Precious, Finite, Resources
by AYangThang
Summary: Life was a system of variables. Possibilities and little more. Humans were lucky. Faunus were unlucky. It was a harsh way to look at the world, sure, but as the weighted shackles cut into her wrists, and the collar around her neck stayed firmly in place, there was no other conclusion she could draw. She was unlucky. Plain and simple.
1. Chapter 1

**Precious, Finite, Resources**

Life was a system of variables. Possibilities and little more. Humans were lucky. Faunus were unlucky. It was a harsh way to look at the world, sure, but as the weighted shackles cut into her wrists, and the collar around her neck stayed firmly in place, there was no other conclusion she could draw.

She was unlucky. Plain and simple.

Forcing her lips to part, she pressed her tongue on the fabric that silenced her, testing how loose it might be. There was no hope there, either. The silk material seemed rather clean. It was tied to be snug. There would be no way to jostle it off, but at least it didn't taste of soot. She noticed quickly that there was something strange on the fabric.

…some sort of symbol stitched there with heavy thread…

The unlucky Faunus in question set the matter aside. Her ears flattened back, accepting her fate for what it was. She was doomed, her people were doomed, and there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

Oddly enough, in a small abandoned village only a few miles away, there was a privileged human also giving herself to the fates.

It seemed the right thing to do, allowing the magnitude of her plans to settle over her. As a blueblood, her path weighed her down heavily, like the burden that it was. Thankfully, she wasn't alone. She was accompanied by her most trusted female guard and best friend.

The small comfort did nothing to quiet her mind. This adventure was not one suited to pleasantries, and she felt the brunt of her realization overcome what little joy there was to take in the scenery around her. A once perfectly white carriage plodded along the wet grasslands of the sweltering tropics. Mud and foliage caked the sides, and the rain poured angrily around them.

It was nothing like the frozen and crystalized beauty of Atlas. Nothing like the comfort of home that she so fondly missed.

"I didn't anticipate so much rain during our travels." The woman of privileged means told her companion. "You didn't indicate that we would be caught in such sodden conditions."

"Would it have changed anything?" The other woman asked.

"No." The blueblood sighed.

"That's why I didn't say anything."

A set of blue eyes closed behind tired lids. "When I asked you to make the preparations, I expected perfection."

"It's the rainy season." Her companion returned tiredly. "I thought you knew."

"Be that as it may, you could have at least told me what to expect. It is a pressing concern, and you should have done your duty to inform me." She flicked her gaze to the padded bench across from her. "Seeing it now, the rumors must be simply that. Ruby, you could not have walked in this rain, let alone fought so many battles in it."

"We did." The remark came along with the lowering of a red hood, the woman crossing her arms and yawning in the most undignified manner possible. "We fought in the heat and in the rain. We didn't have a choice."

"The more I see of this place, the more I wonder what Atlas truly wants with it." The woman remarked darkly. "My father was a fool to claim Menagerie for his own, and my sister is a saint if she thinks something can be done with it now. If I were her, I would have abandoned the entire thought of it."

"Well, that's why we're going back to Atlas, right?" Ruby asked. "To speak to some of the captives?"

A long sigh slipped from pale lips. Ruby was many things, but a politician, she was not. "I'm afraid my motivations are more duplicitous than that. Ruby, it's best you don't try to question the matter, you'll only give yourself a headache."

"Weiss?" Ruby wasn't quite sure how to phrase her next question delicately, so she went for what suited her best. "I'm not going to have to kill anyone, am I?"

"Possibly."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Damn it all to dust. Can you at least give me more than that?"

"Conflict may be inevitable."

"Oh, come on! That's not fair." Ruby pouted at the monotone response. "That's not even an answer at all..."

"No." Weiss replied quietly. "It most certainly isn't."

"How about this." Ruby said then. "How about I don't kill anyone, and we go find a nice tea house instead."

"Ruby, please settle yourself." Weiss told the younger woman with a sad lilt in her voice. Even thinking of spilling more blood bothered her, though she didn't often let her feelings on the matter show. "Vengeance isn't what I seek. If all goes according to plan, not a drop of Faunus blood will be spilled. However, it is not entirely within my control, I'm sure you understand."

"Just because I get it, doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Indeed." The privileged woman murmured. "I agree, wholeheartedly."

* * *

The concept of time was a lost cause in the jails that housed the surviving population of Menagerie. There were no clocks, no windows, and no way to tell the difference between a day, a week, a month, or even a year. Everything was an eternity measured in baited breath, mealtimes, and movement from one jail to another, like cattle to the slaughter.

A single door faced the hallway, but guards passed by so infrequently that even their visits were welcome stimuli. Faunus were plagued with clear sight, even in the dark. They saw every rat running along the pipes, every bug skittering in the cracks in the walls. They could see everything, some could even hear everything.

The sounds of choked back tears and the rattling of chains were Blake's unfortunate lullaby. Even in the cells, they wore their shackles. Treated more like deranged animals than people. To the humans holding them here, Faunus might as well have been monsters. They were treated with unflinching cruelty. They were beaten down, claws clipped to painfully short lengths.

When a shackled Faunus was taken away, they didn't come back.

Faunus that were too loud had been gagged. Blake Belladonna found herself to be one such woman, young an opinionated as she was. That same stupid silk that quieted her bit into the sides of her jaw. It was tied so tightly, and she could do nothing against it. Yet, even so, it was not the worst that could have been offered.

Anything was better than the burlap used to silence her comrades. In fact, her restraints seemed less daunting than the ones her peers donned. It the one kindness afforded to her, for reasons she couldn't possibly understand.

Her parents sitting beside her had suffered worse. Forcing a breath through her nose, she flicked her amber eyes to the man resting heavily on the wall, blood trickling from gashes that he had been dealt long before. Her eyes gentled in sympathy. Her father was a large man, powerful and strong, but in this moment he looked so utterly weak.

Then, a door creaked open, and they all looked up from their positions. If a guard was coming it had to be time to eat, and eating meant a few joyous moments without the gag on her face. Blake's heart raced in excitement. She heard the sounds of movement, footfalls and scuffling against the stone floor. A distant slamming of metal and the idle sounds of chatter.

The happy kind. Something about tea, and cookies, from a childlike voice.

The two female voices pricked at her ears. That was unexpected. It was different. It _wasn't_ mealtime after all. Blake felt fear seeping into her blood like the damp air seeped into her bones. Curling inward as best as she could against her restraints, she leaned into her mother's side. Though if it was to try and protect the woman, or to be protected by her, Blake was unsure.

Finally, a man's voice spoke. "Princess, I must inquire, what is the nature of your visit?"

"You must do no such thing. What you must do is open that cell, and find me the one I want."

"Princess please, you're being difficult." The man sighed at length. "You are no longer a child, and it doesn't suit matters to-" He stopped speaking, but the Faunus couldn't figure out why.

"Do _not_ make me ask you again." The woman replied with a nasty bite in her tone, chilly and venomous. "Furthermore, you know I absolutely abhor that title."

"As you wish, ma'am. If you'll follow me." The man spoke quietly. His voice stern, but soft. "We've kept them all here for the sake of security."

"I'd question that, truly I would." one woman seemed to scoff. "Why is it so dark down here?"

"Question anything you would like, the reality still stands." The man said. "I'm simply following orders. Therefore, it's dark because I was ordered to keep it so."

"I see. Was that the orders of my father, or the orders of my sister?"

"Orders." The man replied simply. "My loyalties are with the kingdom, as they should be. My actions reflect that." Then the walking slowed, and the man stopped. "It's this cell, here."

The two women stopped walking soon after. "Well, then what are you waiting for? Open the door."

Three shadows stopped at their cell, the bars providing the Faunus a slight glimpse at their visitors. Blake looked up, seeing the tall figure dressed in white. General James Ironwood, a man that might as well be legendary. In battle, he surely was.

"I'd advise you to be cautious." He warned again. "Those Faunus are known to be deadly."

"The women and men are housed together?" The affronted women asked, just out of sight from the small door. Blake couldn't see her, but noted the sound of outrage in her voice. Mild, but there all the same, the small note of disgust plain as day.

The general cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Your father ordered it."

"My father is dead, James."

"So he is." the man replied softly. "I still do not know why you are here."

"That isn't any of your concern. I thank you for your continued service to my family, and the oaths with which you upkeep each and every day. Even still, there are some matters that aren't within your rights to decide." She stepped forward then, her short stature and white features becoming clear in the dim light. "Open the cell, General Ironwood. I will not ask again."

The tall man looked as though he was about to speak again, but pressed his lips together in a thin line. Arguing with the ill-tempered princess wouldn't do him any good. Her tongue was like a spike, and her orders were absolute in the absence of her elder sister. "As you wish." He complied, fishing the key out of his pocket. "Do be careful, though."

The lock released, making a loud clang. The screeching of metal had all of the Faunus in the room pressing their ears to their heads, some of them groaning in protest to the noise. Blake could do none of it. Instead, she felt her blood run cold, seeing this young woman enter the cell for the first time.

Upon her white dress, embroidered in proud royal blue, a snowflake announced who she was before the woman could even say her own name.

"I am Weiss Schnee, the second born daughter of Jacques Schnee. The tyrant has fallen, slain by your new ruler, my elder sister, Winter Schnee." At this, she looked around, her nose wrinkling in dismay. "I have come to liberate you from your cell. Do as you are instructed. If you can manage that, you'll find yourselves in more suitable dwellings by nightfall."

"Wait, Weiss." Her fellow companion said as she stepped into the dank cell that smelled horrible. A mix of blood, sweat, urine, and death. "They could resist." Seeing the inside of the cell made the snack in her hand entirely unpalatable, and she tossed the cookie onto the floor.

Even with it laying there on the contaminated ground, some of the Faunus were too hungry to care and reached for it before fast reflexes stopped the frail hands cold. The hooded figure set her foot over the cookie, eyeing those starving men with pity. "Don't eat that one. There's more where that came from."

"I doubt they're strong enough to resist in this state." Weiss replied coolly. "Still, I would be inclined to agree. Refrain from eating food that's been contaminated by your own squalor."

"They've been in here since Menagerie fell." Ruby said, pulling the tin she kept concealed in her cloak, opening it, and providing one single cookie to the starving man. "It's been two years since then. I don't even think they know what it's like to be outside anymore."

"It has been that long, hasn't it?" Weiss noted with a sad tilt of her chin. She looked to her Faunus captives. "Let me be clear. You will be treated with fairness, but the men and women in servitude to Atlas come first. If they must, they will have permission to use lethal force. Do not test this."

The red hooded girl did the unthinkable, she reached out and touched the princess. A hand outstretched and placed upon the intimidating woman's shoulder. "Woah, you didn't have to be so mean about it."

"Make up your bloody mind!" Weiss looked to her companion then, ire dancing in her eyes. "That one, there, with the family crest." She pointed at Blake. "She's the one. Prepare her for travel, she'll be coming with us."

Blake was hardly even out of the cell before she was stripped naked, doused with several buckets of cold water, and inspected for vermin. She wasn't even offered a towel to dry as she was marched off. The short young woman with messy brown hair began yelling at the guards to treat every Faunus with care, but, it was obvious they weren't paying close enough attention.

It didn't matter. Either way, Blake was sure she was doomed.

* * *

The first time Blake had been separated from her parents, she had only been a little girl. Her exact age, she couldn't quite recall. No, it had been the foggy events that lingered in her mind's eye. She remembered struggling against strong arms holding her back. She didn't know it then, but it had been for her own protection.

She recalled her mother screaming at her, ordering her to listen to her keeper. Her father demanding her to be a good girl as he rushed off into battle. She had been terrified, but her fear went unwarranted. They had only been separated for a short time. Only a few weeks, and her parents returned. The joy she felt at seeing her parents again had soothed every dark fear she had.

It was a simpler time back then.

A time she could never go back to.

No, instead she was stuck here, with this chatty young female attendant.

"So, if I've listened to Weiss the way I should, you're Blake Belladonna." The young woman clad in her cape spoke as they walked along the narrow hallway. "That's you, right?"

Blake chose not to answer, not to even speak. A tiny nod of her head was all she offered, and she almost wished she had the fabric over her mouth again to prevent her from speaking at all.

"I'm Ruby Rose, maybe you've heard of me?"

Indeed, every Faunus around knew Ruby Rose. She was a girl that might as well been a fable. The story of the two reapers to cut across the battles of Menagerie spread far and wide during the war. One was known to be more merciful and soft spoken, the other had a reputation for being a perverted lush. Why the young woman would be visiting a place like this, Blake hadn't the slightest clue.

If Blake had to guess, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"I've heard of you." Blake said softly, her voice harsh against her words. It hurt to talk, she didn't do it very often, not anymore. "You murdered an entire Faunus village in one night."

"The Grimm did that, not me." Ruby said softly. "I've never killed anybody in cold blood, not ever."

"You stood in pools of Faunus blood as it soaked into the ground." Blake retorted, voice rasping against the accusation. "You might as well have killed them."

"Is that really what you think?" The girl asked.

Blake could hardly bring herself to look at her. "You don't want to know what I think."

"Actually, Blake, I do."

The face of a child, eyes like steel, a collapsible scythe able to rend flesh and bone. There were horror stories of this girl. Ones that spoke of her riding into battle, taking all in her path and leaving them behind as only memories. Blake had laughed them off time and time again, but faced with the gaze aimed at her, she felt a stiffness in her shoulders.

There was no way this girl could be one of the two famed reapers, but, then again, so few people carried the features this girl did. Merciful or not, her tales of combat spread far and wide. Her kills were said to be swift, deadly. So fast her prey would never see it coming. Her targets never even had time for pain.

Age and hardship had jaded Blake.

Logic sharpened her views distinctly with the reek of anger and hate. There was a malignancy in her now, trust in the future held nothing. Faith was little more than a desperate plea that would never be answered. Over the years she had watched people get taken away, only to never return.

Blake was sure that she was about to face her own end. Whatever that happened to be, she expected it to be as swift as the stories told by drunken warriors. Her mother would likely be taken next. Then, lastly, her father, the defeated Chieftain of Menagerie himself. Their deaths would make a statement, Faunus blood spilled for the show of ultimate power.

Proof that humans were the superior race among the peoples.

"Hmm. You want to know what I think…" Blake murmured with disdain. There was only one reason she could think of. When they came to the final set of double doors, she was almost sure of it. "I think you're here to kill me."

* * *

A queen scowled from atop her throne. She was said to be the most reasonable of the three siblings, but as the eldest, she had a vested interest in looking after her family. There were very few things on the face of the planet that could infuriate her. When her sister went wandering off on her own, it topped the list.

Winter felt a migraine coming, one only her younger sibling's antics could produce. "This is a farce, Qrow. She didn't. She couldn't have."

"Couldn't, or wouldn't?" He asked as he slumped against a nearby pillar, toying with a fine goblet that he had no business holding. "Shouldn't maybe, but she did, like it or not."

"She wouldn't dare even dream of it…" Winter said before hesitating. "Wait. Would she? _No._ Of course not. Why am I even thinking that? Better yet, why are you goading me into thinking that?!"

"Don't piss all over the messenger." The man groused. "I'm not goading you. I'm just giving you a matter of perspective."

"A matter in which I didn't have the slightest inkling to ask you about." The irate queen pointed out. "Not even in the slightest. Yet, with a few simple words, you bring into question everything."

At this, the man chuckled darkly. "You pay me to keep your family safe."

"I pay you to lend me your seed, not to fill my head with your paranoid delusions." She stood from her chair and paced. "Where is Yang when I need her?"

"Out." The man smirked.

"Answer my question!"

The queen glared at him, more insults than she knew what to do with filled her head, but none of them seemed fitting for the man in front of her. No, he was a man who could not be insulted by even her best efforts. After all, his very life was an insult. Qrow walked a fine line, he always had, ever since she had the wondrous displeasure of meeting him.

Before then, Winter Schnee never knew how much someone could flirt with the very meaning of death.

Qrow wasn't at all intimated by the woman in front of him. "Do I look like her keeper?" Queen or not, he had more pressing matters to think of. His mind occupied on where to locate his next mind numbing drink. "If you want her, just bitch loud enough, she'll come running. Always does."

"You are an absolutely insufferable letch!" Winter seethed, finger outstretched. "If you weren't Yang's uncle, I'd have you beheaded."

"I am her uncle." Qrow smirked. "More importantly, I'm your only ticket to ensuring that your future kid will carry Branwen genetics, unless of course you'd like to ask Tai for his. Xiao Long are just as good. I'm sure Yang would just love to hear that she'll be raising another sister."

"You are a sick, twisted, miserable man." Winter sighed. "I have no idea what in the world my father saw in hiring such a demented drunkard such as yourself."

"I dunno, but I'm doing your dirty work now." At this he smirked. "In more ways than one, if the council has their way. Now, that's what I'd call a farce."

"If only you'd drop dead." She spat as she turned on her heel and began to pace. "Then all of this bloodline and linage nonsenses would be done for once and for all."

"Plenty of other men with seed." He grinned. "Technically the council only cares about you."

"Will you shut up?!" Winter seethed, sucking a breath through her teeth, least she strangle the man in front of her. "More to the point, you don't even understand the gravity of this situation, do you? What if something were to happen to Weiss? She isn't the fighter that I am."

"She's got Ruby with her. She'll be fine."

"When I told Weiss to find someone suitable for betrothal, I was implying someone of noble birth. At the very least, I expected someone of great renown. Someone with talent worthy of notice." Winter paused again. "Yet, you tell me she's gone in search of a Faunus. I can't even begin to fathom why."

The man shrugged at this, he could only guess at the reasons, and even then, he didn't care to guess too deeply. "Probably because you've put her in charge of keeping Menagerie secure."

"What else was I to do?" Winter refuted. "I couldn't entrust the tropics to Whitley. He doesn't understand the first thing about running a kingdom. He's a noble with no sense about him, floundering under the selfsame grandeur that our father doused him with."

"So you gave it to Weiss, knowing she was doomed to failure." Qrow replied with acid.

"You misunderstand entirely. Weiss is a driven young woman, and she is of the perfect age to wed. I was sure she would find a nice young man, settle down, and actually do something with the territory." At this she swallowed back the implication. "She an intellectual, too, let's not forget. Her qualities made her suitable. Since we have the territory, we might as well use it."

"She has no more interest in men than you do." Qrow laughed, shoving himself into a standing position and meandering to where the new queen stood. "You know it, plain as day. Why did you assume she'd find a man?"

"I didn't." She told him, more disappointed in herself than she cared to admit. "There are plenty of women in power within our fold, with similar interests. Presumptuously, I thought at the very least, she would choose Ruby."

"Yeah, well, that's probably why this whole adventure of hers is your fault." Qrow muttered, the goblet was now empty, so he sat down on the marbled stairs, allowing his hand to rest on the royal blue carpeting. "No doubt, she told Weiss all kinds of things about her travels. Tell a person too much, it makes them want to wander off."

Winter could only shake her head. "Well then, she had better wander back home immediately. Go find them, Qrow, and do it now."

"Can't leave. Council will have my head."

At this Winter drew her sword, which she insisted to keep at all times, even against the suggestions of her personal advisors. "Your head or your manhood, Qrow. Only one will kill you. Choose wisely."

There was a time not long ago when he would have drawn his own weapon on her. They would have had what he might consider friendly exchange of personal sentiment. Having a duel, leaving only minor destruction in the aftermath. Doing that now only promised death, and so he kept his weapon in his place and instead slowly meandered off, in no real hurry to locate anybody.

His goal was the local pub, and nothing more.

* * *

Blake was sure she was going to face her death.

The Faunus sighed heavily, her own lashings stung across her back. She had been beaten in this jail several times since her family had been captured. Maybe that's why Ruby was here. Death would be mercy, and who better to grant it than the famed merciful reaper.

Blake was too weak to struggle, to hurt to fight back, and let herself simply be dragged to the room she was now waiting in. It was brighter than the cell, cleaner, but she was still trapped. There was no way to escape, and this girl, though smaller than her in size, was obviously a warrior, strong and true.

Ruby Rose was also a chatty little thing, if Blake's observation was anything to go by.

"Did you know that several decades ago, Atlas was considered to be a difficult place to live? Most of it was covered in snow all year round. You can't call places like that home." The young dealer of death babbled. "The southernmost tip of Atlas has tundra, fjords, and fellfields, but those places also have wild monsters. Have you ever seen large, black and red monsters like that? Do you know what they are?"

Blake nodded, unsure why she had been lead to a room with actual furnishings. A clean bed, a table, and a proper chamber pot. There was even a wash bowl. These were things that even away from the industrializing cities were considered luxuries in this jail. Blake hadn't seen anything like it in two long years. "I have seen a Grimm before." Blake murmured distractedly. "Those creatures."

"Well, that's my job."

"Grimm." Blake deadpanned.

"Yeah, I stop them from terrorizing places, that's what I do." Ruby told her, gesturing to the weapon resting propped up in the corner. "I slay Grimm." She walked over to the satchel she had waiting in the corner. "Here, this is yours."

"I didn't bring any belongings here." Blake said, though she took the clothing gratefully. "Besides, even if I did…" Blake jiggled her wrists, the chains ringing their saddening tune.

"I'll let you out of those." Ruby told her. "But you have to stay, and you have to listen to what I tell you."

"I know better than to try and escape this facility naked." She replied, ears flattening back. One too many bad memories reminded her of just how terrible an idea that was. Desperate attempts would be met with failure, plain and simple.

Ruby nodded, and began to remove the shackles on her wrists and ankles, leaving the collar alone. Only the royal family had that key, and Ruby forgot to get it from Weiss, though she doubted the princess would have given it to her.

"My uncle told me about the wars. The ones that happened before you and I were born, I mean." Ruby began, respectfully turning to the side, only half an eye on the Faunus. "Atlas had troops with skill, able to fight the conditions and adversaries alike. They cut through the smaller territories without even flinching at the carnage."

"They did." Blake sighed, unsure of where this was going, but she didn't want to annoy the obviously armed girl. Instead she dressed with the shirt and trousers afforded to her, finding them awkward and baggy. Men's clothing, and a size too big. "I'm well aware of the history. Why are these so large?"

"Well, because they belong to my uncle. I didn't know your size, so, you know, bigger is better and all that." Ruby shrugged, setting aside a bladder of drinking water resting in the bag. Then she partook two slices of bread. "Good thing too, you would have never fit into my clothes."

"At least they're clean and dry." Blake murmured, afraid to show weakness, or how she almost purred at the feel of clean fabric against her skin. She forgot the joys of such simple comforts.

Ruby nodded as she took one of the slices of bread for herself, handing the other to the woman in front of her. "Anyway, my uncle said that some of the territory was the collection of islands and the peninsula uninhabited by humans. Based on that, I just have a few questions."

"I don't think I want to listen anymore, or answer any questions, either."

Ruby thought about that for only a moment, and then continued on anyway. "From what I understand, Menagerie was a Faunus hub only. Eight of the surrounding islands were protected by a barrier reef, safe from the Grimm that plagued the waters and the skies."

"I know!" Blake shouted. "It was my people! My home!" She shook her head. "You tore it down."

Ruby stood quietly in the face of the rage that resonated off of the Faunus. "I know." She said softly, she had her own sins to atone for too, of course. Even she had witnessed a few battles marking the end of the war. "Humans tore down your home, but the tearing it down part, that was an accident."

"You don't understand." Blake growled. "Atlas took my home and completely destroyed it."

"That was never the end goal. They didn't want to see it burn to the ground. Atlas wanted it for themselves." Ruby told her. "It's still wrong to take homes away from people, I agree with that. They wanted the land for themselves though, to live there. Now, no one can live on most of it."

"Humans are to blame. It's your magic that causes fire that you can't control. Your magic that caused ice to sweep over everything. Your magic!" Blake became quiet once more. "Not ours…"

"Well, you're only half right. It's not magic, it's dust."

"Does it matter _what_ it is?" Blake snarled. "My home is gone! _Everything's gone_ thanks to it. You do demon's work!"

"Demons, huh? Maybe we are demons." Ruby said thoughtfully. "If we are though, Faunus are too. Why else would a Grimm, become a Grimm?"

* * *

Most humans viewed Faunus with distain, but Weiss aimed to change that.

She knew nothing about island life, and though she had picked up several tomes on the subject, she was still no closer to understanding her way around the tropical location. It was in her care now, entrusted to her by her sister. The land was hers by rights, to do with it as she wished.

It was true that most of Menagerie sat buried under several inches of soot. There was still so much that went unknown about dust. Powdered minerals made up the substance, but the properties were still a mystery. It was something to be observed, and her father's army was wrong to use such a powerful and mysterious substance so eagerly.

Even if most of the land could never be used again, she still had an island to oversee. She knew nothing about herbal medicines or the terrain. It was with this in mind that she decided to seek out Blake Belladonna.

Her sister had told her to find a proper suitor, and to do it quickly. What better a suitor was there to choose? The chieftain's daughter would be perfect. Weiss couldn't think of a better candidate. Still, that meant that Blake would have to agree to be married to a Schnee, and Weiss doubted convincing her of that would be easy.

When she arrived at room holding the Faunus captive, she found Ruby standing guard outside the door. Weiss couldn't risk the Faunus escaping, or letting the situation to slip away from her. Thankfully, Ruby was dependable, even if she was too kind for her own good. The cloaked girl was slouched, weapon in hand, looking bored out of her mind. Naturally, that too, was to be expected.

"Well?" Weiss asked expectantly. "Is everything according to plan?"

"Huh? Oh. Oh!" Ruby shuffled herself to attention. "Sorry about that. It's lonely around here just standing around in the hallway."

"That wasn't my question." Weiss mumbled, more to herself than the peppy girl in front of her. "Have you properly prepared for my visit?"

"Well, she's got clothes on." Ruby shrugged. "I don't know what you planned to do with her, so I didn't really do much."

Weiss gave Ruby a stern gaze. As a princess, she was in her every right to reprimand Ruby for failing to deal with particular tasks. However, she kept Ruby at her side as a friend, not merely an attendant and bodyguard. In fact, truth be told, Ruby was the worst handmaiden Weiss had ever come across. The woman was a traveling huntress at heart, not a servant, and Weiss struggled to always keep that in mind.

"You haven't bathed her, groomed her, or even informed her formally of why I want her, have you?"

"Uh, no?" Ruby flinched. "I mean, you absolutely hate it whenever I try to bathe you."

"That's because I would rather do for myself, Ruby." Weiss said firmly. "Either way, I would have thought you'd chatter her ears off."

"Well, I was trying to be friendly, but I think I might have messed that up." Ruby said guiltily, and Weiss could tell by her tone that she meant it. Ruby said something she truly shouldn't have. There was only one topic that came to mind.

"Ruby, listen, as a mercenary, you've been trained to see the world much more clearly than others. Most people, Faunus and human alike are not so enlightened. They were not raised to be. Not like you are." At this, she smoothed out the folds in her friend's cloak. "You need to see your position for what it is."

"I just wanted her to understand…"

"I'm sure she does, Ruby." Weiss replied darkly. "She understands exactly what happened in front of her own two eyes. That final skirmish…" Weiss trailed off. She hadn't been there herself, but she had listened to the stories. She knew what the rumors said.

"I know." Ruby murmured. "I was there, remember?"

"You shouldn't have been." Weiss replied. "Huntress in training or not, you shouldn't have followed your uncle into battle."

Ruby shrugged. "Yang went."

"Yang is famed for imbecilic thoughts and actions." Weiss replied. "I fully expected her to go charging headlong into the fray. It's what she does. You should have stayed with me at the palace and waited, as you were ordered."

"I had to go." Ruby argued. "You know I did."

"Just as you know why I have to get Blake Belladonna to agree to marry me." Weiss nodded. "I want that woman to be as complaint as possible with Atlas. It'll do everyone a great deal of good. I don't expect much, but if I can just get her to agree to tolerate me, that will be enough."

* * *

When Atlas mounted the attacks on Menagerie, they started a war that would last decades. No one knew then that the war would have such longstanding, volatile repercussions. That even two years after it was over, the echoes would be devastating. Weiss needed Blake to understand the position Atlas was in.

She needed to convince the Faunus woman that being married was a good idea.

For the first day she tried being pleasant. The second, she had tried being conversational on worldly topics. On the third, she had even began yelling. Each day, Blake met her with silent defiance. A refusal to even look at Weiss, let alone listen. Blake's downcast eyes weren't reverence, they were rage.

Bloodlust danced behind her molten amber gaze.

Weiss began a new tactic. She began laying down photographs of Menagerie's devastation in careful order. It was a ruthless thing to do, but she was at the end of her rope. She had tried everything to get Blake to agree, and this was the final straw. "Dust is a funny substance. We trifle with it, but, all of it comes from the ground in Remnant. It's part of the ecosystem, and so it does allow for new life."

Sprouts were poking up from the ash. They were easily crushed underfoot, so Weiss had ordered no one to walk on the recovering landscape. Blake saw the photos with her own eyes, but that meant nothing. The pictures could have come from anywhere.

"I thought you might continue to ignore me." Weiss replied. "However, you don't really have a choice in the matter. You will eventually have to agree to my terms."

Blake flicked her gaze to Weiss. Her fingers tapped idly on the table. Her claws hadn't been clipped in almost a week. She debated her chance, her few options were a delicate matter. She still said nothing. The slightest word might give away her thoughts, and murder was high on the list. She couldn't risk a single sound outside of her annoyed tapping.

"I don't condone my father's actions. Winter and I are hardly in the position to reverse everything he did during his time in power." At this she sighed. "Atlas might stand as one of the strongest world powers, but even we cannot simply change our political position on every little thing."

Blake's tapping stopped and she leaned forward in her chair. "I will not be your concubine!"

"Wife." Weiss corrected.

"You can't expect me to believe that." Blake growled. "A Schnee would ever take a Faunus as their mate."

Weiss mentally bristled at the term. It was animalistic and uncivilized. "I would indeed take a Faunus as my _spouse_ , if she were to be of the proper bloodline, which _you_ are."

"Not interested."

"I don't care." Weiss stated. "Your people, however, they might. Atlas keeps Faunus slavery alive and well. I feel as though it will remain that way until drastic measures are taken."

Blake frowned deeply at this and averted her gaze again. Her tapping resumed, albeit at a slower pace.

"You do want what's best for your people, don't you?" Weiss asked. "I can release Faunus from prisons, but the people of Atlas hold the power. Faunus have no protection. Atlas is a large kingdom. A revolt could arise, and like it or not, Winter cannot risk that. I refuse to risk her life, either."

"She's the queen, she refuses to do anything."

"Her position is new. Fragile, and under scrutiny. Rulers have been slain for less." Weiss replied. "Outlawing Faunus trafficking and slavery outright would be a stretch for even a beloved ruler. Winter stands no chance to hold power."

"I refuse." Blake glared. "I will not be your wife, bride, spouse, or whatever you humans call yourselves."

"Do you now? Are you truly so self-serving, that you can't bring yourself to care about the far reaching ramifications?" Weiss bristled, there was a sound coming out of Blake's throat, and it sounded distinctly like a growl. One quite unlike the others she had heard in her dealings with the woman. This was much more feral. "I implore you to listen to reason."

 _"_ _No!"_

"As I've said, you don't have a choice." Weiss told her. "Thousands of Faunus are reliant on your compliance. Failure to do so subjects them to harm beyond a scale that I can reasonably measure."

"I would sooner die than bed a Schnee."

"Your death would easily mean theirs."

"You promised them freedom."

"I promised fairness for compliance." Weiss said simply.

"What good would it possibly do?" Blake shot back. "As you said, you won't simply outlaw the slavery of Faunus."

"Atlas is a kingdom of protocol and recourse. You must be a barbarian if you can't understand that."

"I'm still calling it into question, like it or not." Blake said. "I'm not a barbarian. I don't go seeking after what isn't mine to begin with."

"Openly selling Faunus while one is wedded to me?" Weiss laughed darkly. "Oh, now that would be an insult. A grave one at that. No one is that foolish."

"You don't have the power to promise otherwise."

"You're right, I don't." Weiss sighed. "However, they would no longer sell Faunus on street corners like cattle. Doing so would make them lesser in the eyes of their rulers. It wouldn't be out of the goodness in their hearts. Greed is the motivator, and I won't begin to defend that. Whatever the cause, it would be a step in the right direction."

"What do you stand to gain from this?" Blake said with her eyebrow arched. "It must be something."

"Several things. Each are directly important to me." Weiss said earnestly. "Since you are not an Atlas native, you wouldn't understand the benefits. However, there is one thing that you do understand perfectly, Faunus have no safe place to live. Ironically enough, I've been gifted the one thing you'd like most of all; your homeland, Menagerie."

* * *

"Weiss is plotting something, and I fear it may be too late to stop her. I do not like this. Perhaps she couldn't handle such a large responsibility." Winter protested as she paced the same trail from one end of the room to the other. "There has been no word from Qrow at all."

"Babe, you're going to fray the carpet."

"I will do no such thing." Winter replied giving her lover one of her signature scowls. Her frown was deep, her usual poise and beauty darkly hued in her rage. "How is it that you can be so calm? Your own sister also gallivants around, swinging that scythe of hers no doubt."

"Because she has it in the first place?" Yang asked rhetorically, eyebrow raised as she turned into her side, the crisp white sheet felling from her naked body, exposing her glorious form. "I'm more worried about you. If you keep pacing like that, you'll get old fast."

"I am old." Winter sighed.

"Bullshit." Yang said, drawing herself into a sitting position and lugging herself away from the warmth of her bed. Her thumb lifted to the middle of Winter's brow, rubbing away the lines that indicated her fury so perfectly. "She's fine, so chill."

"You are among the most uncouth people on the face of this planet." Winter said with a roll of her eyes, still unsure as to why she was so smitten with Yang in the first place. "I miss the days when you held your tongue."

"Sure you do." Yang said with the tiniest of smirks, knowing better. "I could loosen it, you know. Maybe, loosen you while I'm at it?"

It was true that the warrior was a prize to be had for her body alone, and it was also true that her skill in battle carried great distances. However, Yang's personality was boorish and clunky, evidence of her time in service to the military. Yang was not the elegant and refined warrior that her station demanded her to be. Since their marriage two years ago, she had somehow become even more like her uncle. It was a terrifying realization made worse by the fact that Yang didn't seem to care.

"I refuse to speak of such matters outside of bed, you know this, Yang."

"Well maybe if you put your tight little ass _in_ the bed, we could actually get somewhere." The blonde said, one hand flailing in the intended direction.

At this Winter felt her blood boil. Her hand raised and outstretched, pausing mid-strike. A harsh breath ebbed into a sigh, and her hand fell back to her side. "I can't possibly sleep at a time like this."

"Who in the hell said anything about sleeping." Yang deadpanned softly, her voice clueless for all the right reasons. "Winter, I've been cooped up in meetings with grumpy old farts for days. Come on, I'm chomping at the bit here."

"I'd dare ask about what, but I have a terrible feeling I already know."

"If you know, then I don't have to say it." Yang told Winter quietly, her voice taking on a mellow tone. She hoped it would be soothing, if nothing else. "Your dad was an ass, and he left you his entire life's mess to clean up. I know that better than anyone, but, if we don't keep the spark alive between us, then what's the point?"

"You know perfectly well the point."

"The advisors are looking for every reason to prove how worthless I am to the people of Atlas." Yang told her with a shrug. "When it comes down to it, maybe I am worthless to them, but I don't care about that. I can't stand the idea that I'm being worthless to you, though."

"You aren't worthless to me, Yang." Winter replied unevenly.

"I kind of fell like I am."

"You aren't!"

"Then trust me. Don't worry about Weiss so much and come to bed." Yang trailed off. Seeing her wife so upset was an unnatural thing to witness. Winter liked control, and usually commanded it flawlessly. "I promise that she will be fine."

Winter seemed to mull over the information gifted to her one last time. If it was true that Weiss had gone in search of Blake Belladonna, Atlas would be poorly prepared for the ramifications. More troubling, Winter had never come into contact with the bestial creatures herself. "The Faunus, Yang, what are they like?"

"Faunus?" Yang scratched the back of her head and sat back down on the bed. "I don't follow."

"You battled the monsters firsthand. You have to know something."

"Well, I know they're not monsters." Yang corrected softly. "They're not like the Grimm."

"They're rumored to look and sound like animals." Winter shot back, trying to ignore the way Yang's gaze burned into her. The blonde was eyeing the way she disrobed with hunger. "Are those rumors false?"

"A little." Yang smirked at the question. "There's some truth, but that's the case with most rumors. Faunus look mostly human, at least from what I've seen."

"Is that all you care to say?"

"Well, they walk around half naked. It's hot on Menagerie."

The icy woman gave Yang a sidelong look. One that was not quite vexed, and not quite amused. It teetered dangerously on a fine line between the two vastly different emotions. "Only you would think to say that."

If Winter had her way, she would have upended the entirety of Atlas. Still, she was a wiser soul than her predecessor. She knew better than to start conflict with each slight upturn of her nose. It didn't quell the desire for answers though, Yang knew that well.

"I don't know them as a people any more than you do. I do know that Faunus are strong, and mostly, they seemed to fight with honor." Yang told Winter. "I respect that."

"Then I suppose I have no choice but to do the same." Winter decided, choosing to retire for the night. It was for Yang's sake, and _only_ Yang's sake.

She could have insisted on waking every spy, huntsman, and vagabond in the city. Yet she refrained instead. Forgoing donning a nighttime gown, as she had done in the past, she crossed the room to the bed, flinging back the sheets, sitting upon them nude.

Perhaps it was the cold climate, or the stringent upbringing of her people, but even lovers dressed for sleep. Yang was not an Atlas born woman, and she was the furthest thing from a blueblood Winter could have selected as a lover. The Vale native had been a gift of peace to the late king. Yang had been one of the most deadly adversaries Atlas had ever encountered, and one of the most skilled warriors.

Yang Xaio Long was only one of many fine warriors to have been traded to Atlas, standing as living promises between several warring kingdoms that bloodshed would no longer occur. Blood spilling might mean murdering a once beloved hero, and among all of them, such atrocities could not, would not stand.

Winter wasn't sure when her fascination with Yang began, or when it turned to infatuation, but she knew exactly the moment it became something more. Recalled perfectly, the time she saw Yang's true complexity for what it was. It was a strange feeling then, and it was a strange feeling now. Her customs were strange, her desires more so. Yang was ever the enigma in spite of her continual honesty and loyalty. Winter had never crossed paths with a woman quite like Yang in her life, and that was reason enough to cherish her.

* * *

Blake could see freedom in front of her, but couldn't yet grasp it.

She couldn't remember the last time she felt the warm sunlight kissing her skin, breeze in her hair, and scent of fresh air. She had wanted it for so long, that even the small taste seemed like heaven, as she stuck her head through the open window allotted in the new room she had been escorted to. This one even better than the last. This room, also fully furnished, kept finer sheets, more luxurious seating, the table stocked with food, and a keg of wine.

"You could live like this every day, you know." Weiss told her from her position on the bed, lounging across it as her finger toyed with the silk sheets. "Better than this, even, if you could be trusted without a shackle keeping you tethered."

"I'm not insane enough to run away from here." Blake said, eyeing the big open space. "I'd never survive."

"No, you wouldn't." Weiss agreed. "Nightfall would come, if the cold didn't get to you, the Grimm would. Failing that, food is hard to come by, shelter too." Weiss looked down at her perfectly manicured nails. "You wouldn't stand a chance. The nearest city is four days away on foot."

"At least if I ran, I wouldn't give you the satisfaction of keeping me here." Blake said darkly, her ears flicking thoughtfully against the breeze wafting in. "Maybe that alone is worth it."

"You do want to see your parents again, don't you?" Weiss asked, plucking a green grape from the fruit bowl, and placing it into her mouth.

"Not if you're just going to hang them." Blake said, causing the white haired woman to pause her chewing.

Forcing herself to swallow the now smooshed fruit as it lingered unpleasantly in her mouth, Weiss sighed. At first she said nothing to this, licking her lips as she looked down at the wood grain on the end table. It was finely crafted, like all things in her life, both tangible and intangible. It didn't seem to matter, everything had to be perfect. It was all she knew. Even the insults slung her way, seemed to be the perfect slices to her already fracturing ego.

"Is that all I am to you? A long list of sins given to me by my father before me? Is that truly the only destiny a Schnee can achieve?" She laughed bitterly. "I refuse to believe that. I've refused it my whole god forsaken life, and I refuse to believe it now." She thought on that continually sour concept, toying with another grape. Eventually, she ate that grape too, crushing it between her teeth. "Yet, I suppose that doesn't matter, does it?"

At that, seeming to come to her own conclusion on the matter, she pulled a set of keys from her pocket, tossing them across the room and onto the floor by the woman's feet. "If you would like to run to your death, so be it. You only have two options here. Show me the mongrel you truly are, or the leader you were born to be."

* * *

 **AYangThang:** This is only meant to be a three chapter story, the total number of words totals roughly 30k, and it's something I wrote to help me mentally purge the fog from my head during writers blocks. It is complete, and you will receive chapter 2 in the first week of October, and chapter 3 in the first week of November.


	2. Chapter 2

She said yes.

In spite of her better judgment, Blake agreed to comply with the princess.

Well, she agreed to the human's intent of the word. A wedding and mating were two different things. One was a proclamation of love and union to the church and political powers that be. The other was a set of rituals that proved one mate's worth to the other. Mating was not something to be announced, nor boasted about. It was a heartfelt, humbling experience.

A sad little stone dropped in the pit of her belly at that. Yes, she was getting married. Yes, she would have to likely consummate the union. Yes she would be forever bound to this human.

No, she would not be mated to her. Blake doubted she would ever be mated to the woman by Faunus standards. She doubted Weiss wanted to put forth the effort to try.

Blake sighed unhappily as she toyed with the collar still around her neck, the metal bearing the Schnee family crest. The loop of metal, and the key to unlock it, held value in Atlas. Anyone wearing the collar would find their aura thoroughly restricted. The magic was completely foreign to the Faunus. As Blake had been told though, time and time again, dust wasn't magic. It was something more powerful, far stronger than magic or folklore.

It was science.

Not that Blake believed any of that, of course. Dust was a magic. A human's magic, the devil's work. Even if it was organic and came from the ground, there were some things in nature that weren't meant to be trifled with. One of her ears flicked thoughtfully as she thought about the several hours she had spent being drilled on the advancements that dust could bring.

The little rainbow of soft sandy particles was allouring to look at, glittering in the sunlight. Even still, mysteriously beautiful things should be respected. moreover, they should be left well enough alone.

Blake believed that, just as she knew she needed air to breathe.

As she tinkered absently with the abrasive little chain around her neck, she bitterly cursed the thing. It was there to stay until Weiss removed it personally. Honestly, Blake wasn't sure what part of that little detail was more infuriating. That Weiss had yet to do so, or that a Faunus tolerated taking commands from someone who claimed to want to mate with her.

Then again, Blake hadn't demanded that Weiss take it off, either. The entire idea of belonging to Weiss gave her a headache.

She growled to herself, looking at the table, where the engagement ring sat in front of her. It was a pretty little gem, but Blake simply wasn't interested in it. She stared at it with a bored expression, still trying to figure out why she would be given a ring at all.

"It's just a rock." She murmured, closing the case it rested in. "I don't see why humans fawn over such idiotic things."

"I think Weiss wanted you to keep it on your hand." Ruby said from her place, munching on an apple to tide her over until supper. "At least, I mean, I suppose that's what supposed to happen. Or maybe that's just for the wedding band, I'm not sure." Due to her short stature, her feet swung back and forth as she sat on the tall stool in the corner. "My sister doesn't wear her diamond rings on her hands. She fights with her fists, though, so she wears them on a chain around her neck instead."

"I couldn't possibly bring myself to care what your sister does." Blake said dryly. "I don't even know her."

"Well, yeah, but she's the only comparison I can make." Ruby said, tossing her apple core away once she was done with it. "We don't talk about love, or relationships, or anything like that in the family. Yang's the only one who does…" Ruby trailed off then, visibly shaking the dark cobwebs from her mind. "You really don't like jewelry, do you?"

"Jewelry." Blake scoffed. "It's a glorified bauble, nothing more. It doesn't mean anything to anyone."

"That's not true." Ruby said insistently. "Diamonds are actually really expensive. Most girls want to receive something like that. For humans, it means something to us. It's a big deal, at least from what I've seen."

"So, you would want something such as this?" Blake asked with a raised brow, she slid it across the table. "I have no use for it. You may have it."

"I think you're missing the point." Ruby said, scratching her head awkwardly. "I mean, it might be nice to get one and all, but, I don't want _that_ one. It's yours, meant for you."

"I have no desire to keep it." Blake replied again.

Ruby sighed then. "You don't just give something like that away. It's meant for people you care about."

"I highly doubt that your princess cares much for me at all." Blake said offhandedly.

"You still don't get it." Ruby said, putting a hand to her face, and scrubbing away her slight annoyance.

"Then enlighten me." Blake growled.

Ruby felt her head throb more at the thought of trying to explain anything else to the Faunus. Weiss had given her strict instructions about educating this Faunus woman about human practices. The task was proving difficult. Ruby wasn't used to the big cities, and her skills with other people were fairly low. It was the direct definition of the blind leading the blind.

"Okay, look, don't you guys do something to get the attention of someone you like?" Ruby asked. "Something special, before you hook up with someone?"

Blake gave her a withering look. "I believe the term you're looking for, is mate."

"Yeah, that." Ruby nodded. "Don't you do something for that?"

"Yes." Blake said. "Most Faunus feel the need to follow strict practices."

"Well," Ruby began, pointing to the ring. " _This_ is our _that_. Or, I mean, this is one of the ways people practice…for…oh, damn it…" Ruby shook her head. "Look, humans do this sometimes. People in Atlas give rings to people they choose to…err, mate, I suppose." Now feeling more than a little awkward, Ruby cleared her throat. "Though, I'd probably avoid that word. Weiss really seems to hate it."

"She should have thought of that before seeking out a Faunus." Blake said darkly. "I'm not going to be her little plaything. I refuse to do anything until she keeps up her end of the bargain."

"Look, I know you don't really like Weiss, and I know she can be a little hard to handle…" Ruby began, wondering why she was even trying to reason with the black haired woman in front of her. "The thing is, Weiss really wants this to work out between you guys…"

The words echoed in her mind, dripping into the expanse of her rage and disappointment. "Yeah, you know what, you can keep thinking that."

"It's true!" Ruby shot back, agitated. "You know, most of Menagerie is under a crap load of soot. Most people think you're dead! The people in Atlas believe that the Belladonna bloodline was completely wiped out. I saw the blast, it was huge! I wasn't even at the front and I could feel the heat of it…" Ruby felt her fists clenching around her cape, but couldn't bring herself to do anything else but huff out the anger choking her. "Don't you get it? If the world found out that you were alive, it might start another war all over again. She doesn't want that any more than you do."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"I still don't believe you."

"Look, we really didn't know. When Weiss was going over some documents, we found out the truth. The problem was, it's been two whole years since then, and we were in Menagerie. We told Winter as soon as we found out, but, by then there was nothing Winter could do. She had an entire kingdom to look after. That had to be her first priority."

"She should have sent someone!"

At this, Ruby only sighed, guilty tears at the edges of her eyes. "Weiss is her little sister, Blake. We're here now, aren't we? Can't that at least be better than before? Can't that be enough for now?"

* * *

Weiss was not the fighter her sister was. She wasn't nearly the strategist that Winter had been raised to be.

Books were her solitude, education, and joy. They offered what her father never thought to. Some measure of comfort, some insight to the world. Weiss was a smart woman, and she'd argue the point tooth and nail if someone thought her to be otherwise. Still, for all of her intellect, she was not the queen her sister was.

She never would be. She had never been cultivated to be.

Her talents were geared in furthering her sister's power. Knowing what Winter hadn't the time to know. The complexities beneath common sense. The mathematics and sciences behind reasonable choices. Winter knew a little of everything, just enough to properly sit on the throne, but Weiss knew her task was different. She was to find out everything at her sister's single request.

To know and inform Winter of what she didn't have time to learn herself.

Of course, Weiss knew this had been why Menagerie fell into her lap. It might as well have been an entirely new world, completely alien to most born in Atlas, and impossible for Winter to utilize properly. Weiss had but one single task. To make something of nothing, all for the sake of Atlas.

All for the greater wellbeing of Winter's kingdom.

Weiss sighed at length as she looked in on the now crowded infirmary. Blake didn't have many demands, but the ones she chose proved to be difficult. Weiss knew she didn't have the power at her disposal to do what Blake wanted, only her sister had that kind of authority, but Weiss thought of a compromise. With it, she might at the very least earn Blake's trust.

Ghira and Kali Belladonna were already chained up and prepared for transport to Atlas's city proper when Weiss had ordered them to stay behind.

Ghira's wounds were cleaned and dressed for the umpteenth time, and both were offered proper meals as they enjoyed the simplicities of clean clothes and linens. She pushed beyond the door into the private room where the couple had been kept, inspecting them as they sat chained to the wall to prevent escape. Weiss addressed the woman from the door. "You are Kali Belladonna, mother of Blake Belladonna, correct?"

"What of it?" The woman asked, crouching against her chains.

"Everything." Weiss replied, producing the key to the shackles. She closed the door behind her and kept her distance. Still, she held the key before the woman with cat ears. Seeing them flatten back, not unlike her daughter's own when obviously agitated. "Strike at me all you'd like, the chains won't reach." Weiss warned, knowing that the Faunus woman was likely already well aware of that.

"You keep away from my mate." She growled, getting in-between Weiss and Ghira. "Can't you see he's suffered enough?"

"This again?" Weiss sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Quite the family resemblance."

"I'm warning you." Kali satiated again. "Any closer, and I will protect him."

"Yes, well..." Weiss sighed long and slow. "Noble as that declaration may be, it lacks grace and composure, don't you think? Honestly, I thought I might finally encounter some variant of aristocrat, but your actions prove me wrong."

"You don't know anything about our people." Kali growled, a rumble emanating from her throat. "You most certainly don't know anything about me."

"You're right, I don't. If I were you, I'd tread lightly on any assumptions I might make." Weiss smirked. "If I had my way about it, the two of you would be sent off to Atlas with your freedom. Your fates would fall entirely onto you. I doubt it would have ended well for either one of you. Plans have changed, however, and I cannot longer grant you that freedom so easily. Not when it so quickly promises your untimely deaths."

"Then why on Remnant are we still in this hell hole? Don't you see he needs medicine? He has no aura, blood seeps from his wounds. He's been lashed so many times, they won't close. Why keep us here?" She asked again, affronted anew, eyes glimmering like shards of glass. "He's sick, dying, and you're not doing a thing about it!"

"I beg to differ." Weiss told her. "I'm doing the best I can. I'm no doctor, and this is not a place intended to save lives. It's made to take them. As for your husband…" Weiss trailed off, looking at Ghira. The man was fast asleep, wheezing as though breath was hard to come by, and Weiss expected his ailments wouldn't fare any better on the road. "Accommodations for swift travel need to be made before I can move him. The snow will not accommodate horses to move at the speed he needs."

In fact, she was almost positive the Ghira would die on transit to Atlas without the speed of a sled. She had sent word to Atlas, she needed to wait for that reply.

"Then get that…that... _thing_ off his neck." Kali spat.

At this, a new set of emotions, of failure softened crystal blue eyes. "I can't." Weiss murmured softly before finding her stability once more. "Even if I wanted to, I don't have the right key. The royal family has several keys for different uses. The locks vary greatly in strength. The only one that might have a key to open his lock, is my sister. Maybe her wife, if Winter thought to craft one for her."

"There's got to be something you can do…"

"I'm doing it." Weiss whispered in her rage as she spoke through her teeth. "To the best of my abilities, I've acted accordingly. I promise you that I have, but you need temperance. Besides, it won't do me any good of Blake's father dies here in the prison."

"What do you want with my daughter?" The Faunus woman snarled, fear at war with aggression.

"That is none of your concern." Weiss sniffed. "However, if you must know, I've requested her hand in marriage. She was not foolish enough to deny me."

Another low rumble emanated from Kali's mouth. If it was some sort of speech meant only for cat Faunus, or simply a signifier of the woman's ire, Weiss would never know.

* * *

There were several things Winter expected from her sister's reckless expedition, but nothing could have prepared her for the harsh realities her sister had written of. It was even worse when General Ironwood had sent a handwritten letter confirming her sister's accusations. It seemed as though there were still Faunus nobles alive after all. A weight settled over her.

That he would even come to her when summoned spoke of his desire to set things right. She swallowed back the sadness and depression, finishing her wine as she sat at a wooden table, her heat resting in her hand. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I...I thought you knew." The general murmured quietly. "I was sure you must have known."

She shook her head. "I didn't have a clue."

"I would never lie to you. I would have informed you." James reported, though something them bothered him. "If you didn't known, then what of your sister? Weiss, she did not seem surprised…"

"She was when she found out. She was appalled." Winter said with the slightest shake of her head. "I… I didn't want to believe her. I couldn't. I still can't. The implications are just so staggering. If the world finds out about this in the wrong way..."

"Your father was the ruler, I couldn't possibly disobey him. I knew that you couldn't have either." James said genuinely, carefully moving a strand of hair away from her eyes. "I thought...no...in fact I was sure, that was why you took your sword and plunged it into his chest. Even I know that our peace hinges on fragile ideals, if word got out…" He dared not think what would happen. "Winter, imprisoning the surviving Belladonna family was his sin, not yours."

"If I had known, I would have run him through two years ago!" Winter bellowed, her hand swiping across the table in a fit of deeply seeded rage. "How many comrades did we lose, James? How many rivers of blood were made in those damn mangroves? He dishonors everything we battled for in that one single action, and you let him?"

"What else was I to do?" James asked.

"Nothing." Sadly, she knew that the man was right. "As a servant to Atlas, having sworn faithfully to your oaths, you did exactly what was expected of you. It's not your place to question your orders. Your place is to enact them. It never occurred to me to ask about the state of the Faunus, or the type of prisoners you were keeping. It was my own shortsightedness, not yours."

"You are my ruler now. What I do must come from your orders." James replied. "I will do anything, anything at all."

"We shall attempt to correct what is wrong. Hopefully, it shall be enough." She said. "Arrange the transport Weiss needs, and fortify the outer perimeter, murdering any Grimm you find. Have the Faunus you've brought with you to make camp along the outside wall. We will provide food and what little shelter camps can provide. It's the best we can do on short notice."

"And after that?"

"You will return to your post, and continue your service." Winter replied. "Everything shall go back to the way it should be."

At least, that's what winter hoped as she left Ironwood in his chair. She went back to her throne room to bury herself in her own thoughts. She sat there for a long while. Trying to absorb everything that had come to light, and to calculate the things that hadn't. The contempt for her father bubbled anew, making every possible curse she knew affix to his memory.

Mentally, she wished she could stab him again, over and over and over, until not even his ghost would be left. Sadly, not even that thought brought her any relief.

A loud shout echoed through the halls causing Winter Schnee to lift her head. Tiredly, and with a bit of regret, she righted herself from her resting position against her curled fist. Quietly she listened as more shouts followed. She smirked as the roar of several young men cheered in the wings. Vale's warriors were a rowdy bunch, and they never did mingle well with the much more disciplined Atlas forces.

Obviously, they were spurred on by something, or probably someone. Another roar of laughter followed, chanting, and then what sounded like muffled singing. A crash followed soon after, and Winter rolled her eyes. It was no doubt Yang's doing. She was the only one charismatic enough to throw an impromptu party in the meal hall without facing reprimand.

She was also the only one willing to cause a ruckus inside the castle, knowing how greatly Winter hated disorderly conduct.

Pushing herself up from her throne, she traveled along the wings until she reached the party going on. Several of her most decorated men and women were busy upturning mugs of ale. She said nothing to all of it, merely shaking her head as Yang jumped down from the table she stood on, her own frothy mug in hand as she sauntered her way over, still dressed in her battle garb.

"Hey beautiful." She said, kissing the queen on the cheek as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Come to join the festivities?"

Winter looked down at the mug. Ale was not her beverage of choice. She knew there was no small amount of it held in the barrels along the walls. "Thank you, no. I was merely coming to make sure that my domain would still be standing in one piece."

"Well, it is, so come join us."

"It is, for now." Winter corrected. She watched as one of her best swordsmen toppled over, his face pummeled by the woman standing above him as more cheers followed. Pyrrha Nikos helped the man up and dusted him off before taking on the next contender. "Somehow, I feel as though I should consider myself lucky the tables are intact. Still, I'm tired, and in no mood to entertain guests."

"Aw, come on, you know you want to." Yang said with a smirk, as she leaned heavily on her lover. Not because she needed the support, but because she had a possessive and a playful streak a mile wide, both of them only adding to the way Yang yearned for Winter's touch. "All work and no play makes you cranky."

"I'd ask what on Remnant you think you're doing, but I have a feeling I don't want to know the answer." Winter sighed, allowing one hand to rest on Yang's hip, pulling her close. "Stop now, this isn't the bed chamber."

The blonde grinned at the contact, practically preening. The knowing looks she got from a few of her fellow comrades only made her laugh loudly before she turned to her lover. "Alright, but you know they couldn't give a rat's ass about it." She murmured in her ear before pressing her lips to the woman's temple. "Babe, are you okay?"

"Wonderful, if not for my fear of your party turning into a riot."

"Winter?" Yang asked again, this time, her voice turned serious. "Do I need crack a couple of heads together? I will, you know."

"I'd rather you didn't. I've received a letter from Weiss, along with two hundred Faunus who are currently camped outside of our city walls." At this Winter patted at her breast pocket, where she kept the folded parchment concealed in her coat. "She says there are more to come, she's sending them in waves, and of course I have no idea what to do about any of it."

"Demand the inns take them in?" Yang offered.

"For two hundred, sure? What about the others? We don't have the dwellings needed for the capacities found in Menagerie. I've sent food and supplies outward to the camp they've been making. It's the best I can do. There's no place to put all of these people." With a sigh, Winter brushed the matter off. "Then again, we won't have any place to put mealtime, either, if this party of yours gets too rambunctious. Why can't I have a nice, mild-mannered family? Why must I always put up with such ruckus?"

"Oh, it's not that bad. Uncle Qrow isn't around, and my dad isn't here to start blowing whiskey fires." Yang assured. "Although if you truly wanted to see one, I could easily perform for you."

"Leave the fire eating to the entertainers. You only think you're a dragon." Winter replied, as she took the mug from Yang and set it down on a nearby table. "I'm cutting you off. By the looks of it you've already pickled your insides enough for one night."

"Yeah, sure thing." Believing she was being sneaky, Yang snaked her hand down to grab Winter's behind. The woman removing that straying hand quickly, earning another round of boisterous laughter from those who caught sight of it. "Oh, now why'd you do that for?"

"Why do you think?" Winter sent a glare at them before grabbing Yang's ear and dragging her off, bidding the rowdy members of the army goodnight as an afterthought.

Having served in battle herself, Winter knew all about the uncouth behavior of the common folk. Raunchy jokes and banter were easily slung around when the tongue was wetted with a proper drink. Even though she never openly gossiped outright, she took pleasure in listening to a great many of the tall tales sloppily offered during lulls in combat. It passed the time, and eased the despair of war. As a result, she expected many stories to be spun about her relationship with Yang.

Regardless, Winter could not allow Yang to perpetuate the claims unpunished. Inwardly, she smiled, wondering just how much energy her wife had, planning to expel all of it before the night was done.

* * *

Faunus were strong warriors, and they battled tooth and nail to defend their homeland where they could live in peace. For many years, they were successful. What Atlas lacked in skill during those battles, they more than made up for in manpower. Eventually Menagerie fell, but not before having most of its valued territory destroyed by oncoming projectiles.

Dust bombs were highly experimental, caustic, and deadly. They cleared the battlefront, no questions asked, but it was costly.

Blake thought of that, in the same way she thought of the ring presented to her.

Weiss knew nothing about the Faunus. She didn't stand a chance living among one without offending Blake at every turn. The black haired woman knew it. She tried to think in human terms, tried to view herself in some living situation in which she felt more than distain. She just couldn't picture it. The princess was abrasive, antisocial, too prideful for her own good, and narrow-minded to a fault.

She smelled like a human, thought like a human, and acted, unquestionably, like a human. Faunus would never be human, and they would never live in peace among such blinded ideologies.

Blake sighed as she eyed the prickly plant sitting on the table as Weiss tried to do…well, _something_ , to the spiny green water hating foliage. Blake frowned. If it could have, it likely would have wilted into itself by now in agony. "That's a cactus, if you keep dousing it with water, you're going to kill it."

"Nonsense." Weiss replied. "Menagerie rains all the time."

"That's a dry sand plant." Blake deadpanned. "It's not native to Menagerie. It's native to Vacuo."

"Then why in the world are your homes filled to the brim with them?!"

Blake sighed at length. "Because some Faunus like plants. For example, they might not want to surround themselves with tropical flowers. They see enough of that outside. They might like keeping plants that most resemble their preferred place to live. Little reminders of home, I suppose. That doesn't mean if you stick a cactus into the ground that it will suddenly grow."

"I see…" Weiss looked up, studying Blake thoughtfully. "So, your homes are like gigantic atriums, or perhaps habitats."

Everything about that analogy rubbed Blake the wrong way. Even the way it came out of the woman's mouth tossed gasoline on top of her long burning ire. "Last I checked, not all humans wanted to live in an igloo!" Blake barked, standing roughly and sending her chair flying. "We're not animals, and I'd rather you didn't make the direct comparison so completely offensive."

Weiss said nothing to this, instead inspecting one of her plant samples. She simply didn't know what to say, or how to say it. Instead, she went back to her studies. She was trying to understand the greenery so that she could explain the properties to her older sister, but the task was proving difficult. The conditions were not the greatest, either.

"I'm sorry…" She finally said under her breath. "It was not my intention to upset you."

With a loud clang, the door opened, revealing a very tired, not to mention muddy, Ruby Rose. "The carriages have been loaded for our return to Atlas proper. Everything's finally ready, we're the last to leave."

"To Atlas?" Blake asked, surprised. "I thought we were going home. To Menagerie."

"Your dad won't make it to Menagerie." Ruby told her, sadness in her voice. "His wounds are too deep, and he's too sick. Atlas is the only chance he has."

"Ruby speaks the truth. I looked in on your parents, what I saw was dreadful." Weiss told the Faunus woman. "We have some of the best doctors living within the castle walls. The journey to Menagerie will take weeks just to reach the boarder. The boat ride itself also promises his doom, if he even makes it that far. I had to make a choice, and I chose Atlas."

"I want to see him." Blake demanded, hands clenching into fists as she struggled to swallow down the fear clawing at her heart.

"Absolutely not." Weiss sighed, rubbing her forehead with no small amount of exasperation. "They are already on the move with a separate traveling party. I sent them away with one of the infirmary doctors and several of Ironwood's men accompanying them. They're riding on dog sleds, the fastest transport we have. Once they arrive in Atlas, Ruby's uncle shall ensure their safety until we arrive, as detailed in the multiple letters your mother has been given. If for any reason Ruby's uncle is unable, her older sister shall act the part."

"How can I trust they won't be sold off?" Blake growled. "How can I trust you haven't betrayed me?"

"Yang Xiao Long is my sister in-law, and she hails from Vale. Some of her best friends are Faunus, decorated as war heroes and gifted to Atlas under the promise of peace. Even if the people of Atlas were to want to sell off your parents, Yang would never allow that, nor would my sister." Weiss turned to Ruby. "Make any final preparations, and we will join you shortly. Give the general my regards."

"Alright, but, we will have to be careful." Ruby said with a nod. Her gaze lingered on Blake for a moment, gripping her scythe as if deeply in thought. "Grimm move southward this time of year, away from the mountains and into the territories we will have to pass through." Her cape billowed behind her as she turned abruptly, lifting her hood to tend to her orders.

Weiss turned to Blake. "You must meet my sister, and earn her blessing for our union. We were going to return to Atlas briefly for supplies and proper rest, and that plan has not changed. I promise you, your parents will not come to harm under my protection. After our business in Atlas has been settled, we will return to Menagerie, _all_ of us."

* * *

Blake was annoyed, and that didn't make the journey easy. She tapped her fingers in a hurried fashion. Looking down at the rock on her hand, humans put too much value in such trinkets. It glistened in the sunlight, beautiful, but cumbersome. It weighed heavily on her finger. Though, if she were to ever punch someone, it would probably hurt a while lot more for the trouble.

Her musings didn't stop her from cursing it, of course, or from hating the never-ending ride to the castle town. That is, if it could really be called a town at all. From the description, it seemed more like a large city.

Her ears pressed down at the thought. Blake already missed the feel of dry earth, and soft sand beneath her bare feet. She craved that salty sea air, and the feel of the sun on her skin. The thought of wasting even more time in this frozen wasteland made her want to weep. Forcing back a few tears, she settled for focusing on her anger instead.

Ruby seemed to notice. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

"Do what?" she snarled, hoping doing so would get the girl to leave her alone.

"Repress your emotions, make them even more negative. When you continue to sulk, you draw Grimm." Ruby replied ominously from under her red cloak. "They're attracted by sadness, but they feed off rage."

"I don't care." Blake hissed.

"Maybe you don't, but, I do." Ruby didn't seem to speak much now that they were on the road, and her cheery disposition had fallen flat. She carried herself with discipline now. It made her every bit the image of the reaper she was spoken to be. "More Grimm means more work, and more work means more death." She bit hard into the apple she was savoring, speaking with her mouth full. "I hate to kill needlessly."

Blake looked over to her, wondering why Ruby seemed to care at all. She was a huntress, through and through. The Grimm had fallen easily to her skill. Their deaths were swift, Ruby's body unscathed for her trouble, but her mood had seemed to sour for some unknown reason. "Isn't that your job?" Blake shot back. "To kill the Grimm? You're a huntress, correct? Isn't that what you said you were?"

"My job?" Ruby looked at her earnestly. A slightly aggravated glint in her eyes, a hint of tiredness too. "Ah, well, I guess that's all I can expect from a village girl born and raised." Ruby closed her eyes again, leaning heavily on the carriage walls. "Can't hold it against you, if it's all you've ever known. Being locked up probably didn't do you any favors, either."

They sat silently for a few short breaths before Ruby grabbed her folded scythe and looked to Weiss. "I should make a round or two." She wanted for Weiss to agree, before issuing a warning to Blake. "I'm going to scout ahead, stay inside, and don't go wandering if we come to a stop. I won't be able to find you if you go off the wagon's path." She left then, through the creaky wooden door, closing it rather loudly as she sped off at a run that turned to a crimson blur.

Weiss could only sigh, icy blue eyes flicking towards Blake in careful study. "That was terribly cruel of you."

"I was only asking a question." Blake could feel her own annoyance boiling, her worry for her family steeping her mind in all sorts of malignant ways. "As far as I'm concerned, I've done nothing wrong."

"Then you are blind!" Weiss chastised hotly.

"If I'm blind, I wonder what that makes you…"

At first, Weiss wanted to lash out, but her lips thinned out into a tight line instead. "Ruby was raised out in the wilderness. Her family breeds powerful fighters, some militant, some vagabond." Weiss replied then, offering what little insight she knew. "Her uncle, I'd consider him to be one of the latter. He raised her to kill Grimm and to survive outside of the cities. In the end, it was all he could teach her. There was nothing else meaningful that he could impart, even if he wanted to. That man, he is prone to a great many vices."

"That's no excuse for being a murderer."

"Ruby's a gentle soul, unfit for the tides of war." Weiss replied. "She certainly doesn't need your verbal abuse."

"My people didn't need to be cut down by her blade either, but that's negligible to you, now isn't it?"

"Ruby knows nothing of well-to-do societal norms, yet she's wise beyond her years." Weiss said, switching gears. "Her mind is complex, but her words are simple. She's as socially awkward as she is deadly, and as timid as she is a warrior. I've no idea how deep her grievances run, but I do not wish to know, either."

Blake merely scoffed. "Coward."

"She's done nothing to you, and yet you treat her like she's some sort of deranged beast." Weiss shot back. "I may not know the depth of her past, but I do know Ruby Rose as she is today. She would not be out here if I hadn't asked her to accompany me."

"Why did you then?" Blake asked.

"Why indeed?" Weiss murmured.

"Well…" Blake prompted. "Are you going to tell me?"

"For all that she's killed, she has no concept of hate." Weiss began slowly, thoughtfully. As if she had never before given her reasons the weight of words. "She is not malicious, in that way, she's pure. Almost like a child. When one takes the time to consider the truth, it's haunting, really." It was a sad thing to consider, so Weiss didn't dwell. "For all of her duality, she is not at all duplicitous. It's simply not in her nature to try and be deceitful in any way."

"The stories I've heard don't add up to the woman beneath the cloak." Blake replied offhandedly, looking out into the distance. It was an endless expanse of fellfield, as far as the eyes could see. She hated it. "I've tried to make peace with it, but I can't. It just doesn't make sense. The woman's a demon, I'm sure of it."

"The fact you call her a woman at all, is part of the problem. You see, she's not quite ready to have a woman's heart. Those emotions are far out of reach, and have been since I've known her." Weiss retorted sadly. "Believe it or not, Ruby can be quite fragile. Exasperating as she is, Ruby Rose is a very dear friend to me. I expect for you to treat her kindly."

* * *

Yang felt sick.

When a sled came careening through the streets at top speed, she had expected the worst. Winter had asked her to go receive the defeated leader of Menagerie and welcome him into the castle with open arms. What faced Yang when she arrived at the castle gates was worse than her deepest fears. She was no medic, but she knew the scars of war very well. She had many, and she flaunted them often. They were like her own personal blanket of honor and pride.

These wounds were different. They were not made from war.

"Who did this?" She bellowed with a force she had not needed to use in two long years.

"No one among us." One of the warriors stated, pulling back his hood and yanking down his scarf. "I should go notify the medical staff…"

"Go, Fox, run like hell's on your hells." She agreed, waving her hand forcefully to send him off. "Someone else, give me a damn report!"

"He was like this when we arrived." Another man said, this one much taller, and larger, than the one before him. "The details are hazy, but it was no one loyal to you, or to Winter. They wouldn't dream to do this kind of damage."

Yang looked down, tasting metal in her mouth as she bit her cheek. "Is that the fact, Yatsuhashi?"

"We wouldn't do this, you know that." The gigantic Atlas men stated. "Those loyal to Atlas, to the crown, would never sully the intent of the peace we hold."

"Do I know that?" She fired back. "Fucking fine mess this is. Who the hell did?! I'll break em' in half…"

"Winchester." A woman spoke, as she finally made her way up, dozens of dogs at her side panting heavily. They'd run the dogs hard and long. There was a woman bundled deeply in the sled, and she began undoing the binding meant to keep her safe from falling out. "I've already taken care of it. He's been locked up in a cell for questioning. Ren and Nora have been left behind to keep charge of the prison until the general can return to his post."

" _Cardin_ …that bastard. Coco, are you sure he did this?" Yang watched as the woman nodded, and then snarled under her breath. "I'll have his ass on a silver platter for this."

Anyone who survived the battle of Menagerie, knew Ghira Belladonna well. That he was so powerless before her, that he, a hero is his own right would lay before her a bloodied heap was a grievous injustice. The world stood on the knife's edge of peace. War heroes were the one promise, the _only_ promise that maintained that peace. That he had not been given the same honorable exchange, treated as the mighty and powerful warrior that he was, threatened the entire foundation that Remnant stood upon.

After all, if he could be treated so unjustly, what did that say of her own wellbeing?

What did that imply for anyone else who had surrendered their pride for the good of others?

What slander did it speak for the future going forward?

There was no excuse for the blood dripping from his body, the illness and agony its own brand of torture worse than the whipping that had peeled his skin raw. There was no excuse for the non-ghost that lay in front of her. She thought him dead, ended in the blast that thus ended the war. At the time, she had been happy to think the man dead and gone. It promised the end of so many struggles, and it offered quiet.

It offered peace. A peace that now threatened to be gone in a moment's notice.

"Clear away." She roared out as her rage manifested, smoldering brightly around her. "Go find Winter, tell her what's happened here."

The entire peace that Remnant stood upon was a boldfaced lie. It was a betrayal to her people, her kin. Both the ones she left behind in Vale, and her new people of Atlas. Worst of all, it was a betrayal of Winter's deepest desires to see peace maintained. It was a betrayal of Ruby's efforts, and her own. If the late king, Jacques Schnee had not been run through by Winter's own sword, Yang would have beheaded the accursed, hellacious, bastard of a ruler with her fist in that very instant.

Emotions coiled tight, the famed woman's eyes colored red in a righteous fury. With raw strength not often displayed, she hefted the too large man in her arms, nearly falling forward as she battled for her bearings and dragging him towards the castle. She had never known such rage before, and rage was her keeper. It was her sword, her shield, her very maker. It was her power, her true glory, and it was what earned her the title of a dragon.

Yet for all that it was, and all that it could ever be, this rage was so much more. Inexplicable power, unpredictable might, terrifying even to herself.

She kicked the solid wooden doors to the castle clear off their hinges, sending every guard nearly fleeing in terror. It was blind, this anger. Her thoughts drifted entirely to the infirmary, in some sort of bastardized hope that he could be saved at all. Promising retribution upon whoever did this in the first place.

It was only after Yang had sent the entire medical staff into a panic, that she had found her eyes returning to lilac, seeing the man finding treatment for his wounds.

Arms circled around her torso offering apologies to a crime that the woman behind her obviously had not committed. She felt ice melting the extreme temperatures that coiled around her. Steam hissing as her emotional fire cooled. It was only after several staggering breaths that Yang's body fully realized its own maliciousness, draining the last of her semblance and her aura until there was nothing left of it.

Behind her, the path of distraction was clear, but she remembered none of it. If Winter didn't look so completely terrified, begging and clinging to Yang to calm herself, Yang never would have believed the path was hers to begin with. It was too sinister, and brought back memories Yang had buried the day the war ended."Not now." Yang said pulling away. "I'm not safe." She breathed, forcefully ripping herself out of Winter's hold.

"I don't care."

"I do!" Yang told her. "I'm not safe, Winter. I could hurt you." Her temper could flare again at any moment, in spite of her desire to control it. If Winter got in the way, Yang didn't know what she would do. "Go, Winter, _please_ , stay away." She needed space, she needed clarity…

She _needed_ to make amends…

* * *

The journey was long using horses and buggies. Camping out for long stretches was a dangerous affair, lacking in the creature comforts expected of royalty. No running water, bathrooms, or a proper bed left Weiss more exhausted than she cared to admit. Ruby was used to sleeping outdoors under the stars. Blake, glad to have her freedom, didn't complain about the cold and hard ground. Anything was better than where she had come from.

Finally, though, they found a place to rest properly. Stopping for the night at a small town about a day away from Atlas, Blake noticed several Faunus took refuge in the small community. Weiss didn't seem to pay them any mind, making a beeline for the inn with a sack of coins in hand. She could have bought up all the rooms if she wanted, but she purchased only one, with accommodations made for couples.

Blake was confused by that, but asking why only earned her a scoff.

"Ruby will sleep in the communal beds." Weiss said as she brushed out her hair dutifully. "She has no need for a proper room. She's more than happy to sleep with the other commoners."

"She doesn't seem to like large crowds of people…"

"She doesn't." Weiss agreed. "However, she hates the grandeur of royalty even more. Ruby is an oxymoron. She strives for normalcy, yet, she is the furthest thing from a normal village girl. She wishes for the best of both worlds, and in doing so, she finds the empty expanse of loneliness as her only friend. If she were to choose only one place to stand, she may make friends. As it stands, she doesn't belong anywhere, not truly." She put aside her brush and turned to Blake then. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious."

"About Ruby?" Weiss pressed. "Or, do you judge my integrity?"

Blake was unsure. On the one hand, she was expected to share a bed with this woman, on the other she would be expected to share far worse after their wedding. Blake licked her lips, the conflict as clear to her as the woman across the room. The dim lighting hiding nothing from Blake's keen eyesight. "If it were to be the latter and not the former?"

"I'd be offended." Weiss replied. "We are betrothed, it wouldn't suit me to force myself upon you."

"Force being a matter of degree…" Blake trailed off. "Semantics being what they are, you see my concern. What I want doesn't exactly matter. Only that I comply with what you want. Therefore, should you want something elicit, denying you would not be wise." She looked at Weiss then. "Thinking that way, knowing I wouldn't deny you in spite of my wishes, isn't that force too, in a way?"

Weiss seemed to think on this. "I am a Schnee, and you are a Faunus. If I were to do anything to you, speaking out would hardly help you here in this town." Setting aside her things, she made her way towards the bed, turning down the sheets. "You have no choice but to trust me, just as I will trust you not to make some completely ludicrous claim in the morning."

"A claim such as?"

"Any claim that speaks falsehoods." Weiss demanded. "I intend to sleep, nothing more, nothing less. Now get into this bed where you belong, we will continue our travels in the morning…"

"Why choose a Faunus?" Blake asked then. "I'm sure any woman would have said yes."

"Are you calling yourself an unsuitable bride?" Weiss asked.

"I'm calling myself an unsuitable mate." Blake replied. "As I am to understand it, this is a purely political union. We Faunus have such arrangements too, but even so, we choose mates that we're attracted to. I wonder if humans are the same."

Weiss sighed at length. "I suppose that depends on the human in question." Although tired, she wasn't blind to the question placed in front of her. "I still do not trust that you will follow me to Atlas entirely of your own free will. That's why I haven't given you your own room. However, you are not yet my wife, therefore, asking you to bare yourself before me would be improper. Should you do so of your own accord, well that changes matters, and I'd thoroughly enjoy you…"

Blake seemed to think on this before crawling into the empty side of the bed and laying down with her back turned. "I might be marrying you, but, I won't mate with anyone who doesn't respect my heritage enough to observe Faunus tradition."

Perhaps she was just overly tired, but the thought of that stabbed into her mind in annoying ways. With an upraised brow, and propriety forgotten, she turned over, glaring daggers into the other side of the bed. "And just _what_ , may I ask, are the qualifications to be a mate?"

"That was not a genuine question…"

"Quit being a horse's backside, and tell me."

Blake smiled to herself at this, feeling a giddy little thrill drift down her spine as she hid her amusement in her pillow. Annoying Weiss could be fun, Blake decided, but even she knew to not take matters too far. It was only after she had quelled her stifled laughter that she looked over her shoulder. She could see clearly the confusion at war with a mild anger, the two emotions drifting clearly in blue eyes.

"Our affairs are more personal, and kept between the mates in question. Should you care enough to learn, I'd educate you on the matter, but I doubt you want to learn. Unfortunately for you, life is long and lonely when the middle of the bed remains cold." Then she rolled back over, blowing out the last candle. "I'm the daughter of the chieftain, after all."

* * *

The rumors of Yang's ire were not to be taken lightly. Some said a plume of fire erupted from her body. Others murmured that her feet scorched the marbled floor she stood on. Even more scoffed, saying such tall tales could never happen. Some even laughed at the mere thought that one of the famed dragons of Vale could actually produce fire at all. Among the army, these people were the most foolish, because Yang could command great heat when provoked.

Only a small few took the murmurs as truth.

Plumes of fire, and melting stones aside, Yang's sour moods were no laughing matter. Few crossed her when she was sad, let alone when she was angry. Fewer still were brave enough to face that anger head on. When the warrior herself felt unpredictable enough to send her own lover away, it was a cause for terror and caution of the highest order.

Yet, Sun Wukong was not a cautious man, he was not a timid soul. He was perhaps brasher, even more boisterous, than Yang, and that was no small credit to his name. So, he went in search of her, unafraid of the sight he might behold. If she needed a living, breathing, punching bag, he'd offer himself, if only to find out the depth of her ire.

"It's rare to see you moping around." The young man said from the far end of the hallway as he approached. "I thought you'd be on the training field. Word has it, you were nearly breathing fire. Your semblance rarely burns so hot."

"It has never burned as hot as it did today." Yang murmured, resting her head in her arms. "This was… _is_ …different." If it was even possible, it seemed as though she curled more tightly into herself. Sitting in a ball on the floor. "I've been angry in the heat of battle, and I sometimes lose my temper off the battle field, but never like this. It will take a long time for me to cool."

"That bad, huh?"

"I have never felt such a seething sort of rage, not until today." She lifted her gaze to his, inclining her head upward to do so. "I'm exhausted."

"I heard what happened, but you know, it wasn't your fault." The monkey Faunus sighed as he too, sat on the floor. His back leaned heavily the finely crafted white wall. The etchings of the Schnee family crest had been embedded in marble, and filled with white gold. The smooth stone was cold against his back, and he crossed his arms over his exposed chest as he sat quietly in the otherwise silent hallways.

"Damn well feels like it." Yang groused, sitting on the other side. She waited eagerly for the door to the infirmary to open, but it would be hours at best. She didn't dare think of the worst.

"You didn't know."

"I should have."

Sun Wukong was a Faunus who knew the battles of Menagerie very well. His father was once tasked to oversee a small village on the mainland peninsula. When the battles began, the village was one of the first to fall. In an attempt to keep the villagers safe from war, they traveled far away, to the deserts of Vacuo. War waged there too, and Sun grew up seeing the sands sullied with the blood of his people. Vale and Vacuo were at odds, making matters worse, and that was when Sun Wukong met the two brawling dragons of Vale.

Taiyang Xiao Long, and his daughter, Yang Xiao Long.

They were charismatic people. Unlike their brethren, they didn't make it a hobby to battle and pillage the small sandy villages. They traveled with a small group, fighting off the warriors of Vacuo and Atlas to protect Vale's boarder. Looking to get a little payback for the way Atlas tore his home apart, he joined up with them. When they returned to Vale, he went with them. When Yang left for Atlas, he went with her too. Like all Faunus, he hated the late king. Like all warriors Yang had handpicked to keep at her side, he maintained his loyalty to her.

"I don't know about that, Yang." He said softly. "I don't think you could have known."

"Well, I do." She told him, hot steam still billowing from her mouth. "I could have done better."

Sun truly believed in her insight, and felt that Yang would change the world for the better. If nothing else, following her would never make it worse. He flicked his warm gaze over to her, watched the pain in her eyes. It conflicted him to see her struggling. He wasn't sure how to help, or even if he could, but he knew he had to do something.

"I don't see how. I mean, come on, the queen didn't even know." Sun pointed out, the complete and total shock of it all weighing heavily upon him as well. "If she didn't, how could you?"

"Winter wasn't at the front." Yang protested. "I was."

"Yang, the blast was huge."

"Not big enough…"

Sun nodded, but he still didn't blame Yang. He adjusted the way he sat, fidgeting for a few long moments as he stumbled around his own conflicted thoughts on the matter, finally, he decided to just come out and say the rumors he'd heard. "You know that woman who came riding in on Coco's sled?" He murmured, tapping his fingers against his knee. "They say she's Ghira's mate. I didn't get a chance to look at her, so I wouldn't know for sure."

"If you saw her, would you know if she was?" Yang asked.

"Not really, I was just a little kid when dad took me away from Menagerie." Sun said with a shrug. "I was thinking, maybe I stay here, and you go look for her. Meet her, find out for yourself."

"I don't think I can face her." Yang thought long and hard about how best to apologize, wondering if she even _could_ without seeming as though she was trying to save the image of Atlas. "I doubt I have anything to offer, and there are several things Winter simply can't. This is not Vale, and I cannot treat the situation as if it is."

Her position made reparations mandatory, her upbringing made them seem like the correct thing to do. In Vale, she would not have hesitated to touch her head to the floor, offering almost anything within reason, and maybe a few things outside of reason. Yet, Atlas was home to proud people, the royalty didn't bow to anyone, not even those they had wronged terribly.

"You're right, it's not Vale." Sun replied. "But you made promises to set things right. Our coming here was all for the sake of living a peaceful, honorable life. If the people cannot see how hard you're working to maintain that oath, if they've taken even that much for granted, then they don't deserve peace. Atlas would never survive an uprising, but rulers are only as powerful as their kingdom. If the kingdom falters now, it's not because of you, or Winter. It's because they've forgotten their place."

Yang nodded. "You know I agree with you...but, Atlas won't. I need to think about Winter, she's my wife. I've got to put her image first, no matter how I might feel."

* * *

Kali waited by her mate's side for as long as she could, as often as the castle guards would allow. They didn't allow her to stay long, and dragged her away often. Her own room was small, but luxurious, with everything a visiting noble would expect, except for the size. At first she wondered if all the rooms were so small, if that was the only way the hearth in the room could maintain a warm temperature, but the queen's laugh proved such a theory wrong.

"This is a servant's room." Winter replied. "Some nobles like to keep their own staff close at hand. They sleep here, while the royalty sleep in the rooms directly across the hall. I didn't think you'd like having such a large space to yourself. From what I've been told, the homes in Menagerie are small dwellings."

"They have to be." Kali said demurely, her thoughts drifting to her ailing mate, wishing she could return to his side once more. Still, the medics had made it clear, the more visitors, the more at risk he was. It was imperative she kept away and allowed him to heal properly. So, she reluctantly busied herself in conversation. "The islands don't have much room for civilization, so many of the homes have to be small in order to accommodate the population."

"That's interesting..." Winter murmured. "Weiss did say she found one particularly large home. One unlike the others."

"It was probably ours." Kali nodded. "We didn't have the choice but to keep an impressive residence. How else were we to earn any favorable reply from those in power? Ghira had been trying to make peaceful relations with human settlements for years."

"Royalty like grandiose statements, that's for sure." Winter agreed. "Yet, not all do. I've met some nobles willing to roll around in the dirt if it offers them a good time."

"I wouldn't know." Kali murmured. "My experience with humans at all, well, it's rather lacking."

Winter frowned at that. "From what I understand, you and I are soon to be considered kin. If what Weiss writes in her letters happen to be true, she intends to marry your daughter. If that's the case, you'll have no choice but to acclimate to the idea of being around humans. As such, the people of Atlas will have to begin to look favorably upon the Faunus. Having one in a position of nobility will demand at least some level of respect."

"This is not a good idea." Kali said her words little more than sincere. "Blake should not have even considered this. Selling her soul for the plight of Faunus, it's not the future I wanted for her."

"You think I wanted this for Weiss?" Winter asked quietly.

The woman's ears pinned back unhappily. "Obviously not. This is not their burden to bear."

"Perhaps it is." Winter shrugged.

The Cat Faunus gave the woman an exhausted stare. As if she couldn't believe the words issuing from the queen's mouth. "Of course it's not. They are not the ones that spilled needless blood. They're victims, not saviors."

"Kali, I don't excuse the actions of my people. I don't condone the mistreatment of Faunus. Weiss and I were born into cruelty, your daughter too, was born into a war she could not have stopped even if she wanted to. For all of the difficulty they have both endured, they are young enough to make changes. What my sister asks is not an easy thing, but she believes it to be the _right_ thing."

"And what do you believe?" Kali asked quietly.

"I believe I lost my say in the matter. I placed Menagerie in the hands of my younger sister. Blake will be her bride, as convoluted as that is, you've been given your territory back. Weiss will be giving it back to the Faunus the only way it can be given back. Now, you must hope you've raised your daughter to stand as a pillar in world power, because if she marries Weiss, that's exactly what she will be."

* * *

 **AYangThang:** See you all November 3rd for the final chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Grogginess was a fog that always took a few moments to dissipate from her mind in the early morning hours.

It used to be that every day, she refused to open her eyes. Mentally willing whatever powerful spirits that could hear her, to simply end her life. She begged them to quell her suffering silently. Praying for the gods to take her.

This morning was different, though. Recently, every morning was different. She couldn't smell the fresh hell of the prison, or feel the slab of hard ground underneath her feet. There was no brick against her back. She couldn't hear the rattle of chains, of feel them against her own wrists. Yet there was one thing she did feel, one thing that taunted her into believing this was all a blissful fever dream.

The piece of metal secured around her neck.

When Blake finally opened her eyes, it was to the same sight she had fallen asleep to. The room in the tavern. Glaring daggers at the wall, she tried to shove away the unfortunate realities of her people. The soul-rending doubt in her mind was still there, taunting her. Laying impossibly still, she tried to get a feel for her surroundings. She could hear the noise in the other rooms, the breakfast being served on the lower floors. There were families down there, Faunus ones, talking about the food as if it were the best thing they had ever tasted.

Likely, Blake had to admit, there was no way it could be the worst.

The same warm dip in the bed remained just as she recalled too, meaning Weiss had not yet moved from her place either. The stillness in the room, and the woman's soft snores, were enough to tongue-tie the Faunus. She was sure Weiss would have gone someplace else to sleep. Carefully rolling over so as not to wake the woman, she noticed the calm serenity that replaced the normally stern features.

That wasn't to say that Weiss didn't seem regal. In fact, she looked like a porcelain doll in her sleep, so easy to shatter, and perhaps rightly so.

Weiss was clearly the delicate little princess she had been raised to be, lacking a warrior's figure. With a long sigh, and one too many regrets floating around in Blake's head, she put the matter aside. It was a small chore, extracting herself from the warmth of the bed. The mirror on the wall reflected her clothing, the selfsame clothing she had been given by Ruby when this whole ordeal began. It was highly unflattering, and she shook her head in dismay as the white shirt began to turn yellow from being worn for so long.

"Is something the matter?"

Blake jumped at the abrupt question, turning to look at Weiss, before gazing back at the mirror at herself. "Is it any of your business, even if it was?"

"You seem troubled." Weiss replied as she too roused from the warmth of the bedding. "I make it a personal matter when the people under my watch are under distress."

"If you must know, take a good look." Blake explained.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Weiss replied, rubbing her eyes. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"Look at my appearance." Blake huffed unhappily. "You say I'll be going to the castle to visit your sister. I'll look like a slave dressed like this."

"And this bothers you…" Weiss surmised.

"What a stupid question."

"It was not a question." Weiss retorted. "I'm merely giving the matter some thought. You are an uncooperative woman, and you give me no time to think, or even prepare before you start making demands."

"I look like you own me." Blake said. "Of course I have a problem with it."

Weiss sighed then, still sleepy, and now, trying to solve problems she had not yet planned for. "Your appearance upon arrival to the castle won't matter. We must both be bathed and dressed accordingly before we can even sit down to visit Winter. The wilds are subject to all sorts of illness, we must cleanse ourselves of these things."

"Unless you plan to introduce me naked, I have nothing to wear." Blake pointed out. "Even these clothes belong to Ruby's uncle. They are as ripe as I am, and I'm sure even you can smell how unclean I am."

"Being away from a proper way to bathe for so long does cause a stench." Weiss agreed.

"Then you understand the problem here."

At this, Weiss merely shrugged. "We couldn't stop at a stream, not with your foul attitude. You are like a homing device for the Grimm, and that is hardly helpful. As for your attire, you will be given something suitable when we arrive."

"As if you would bathe in a stream, with all of the mud and muck underfoot."

"I have done it before." Weiss replied. "In Menagerie, there's no choice but to bathe on the sandy shores as of right now. The serviceable island is abandoned. It would be unfair to demand Ruby lug water all over. Honestly, our time was better spent on other tasks. There are hot sulfur pools we've found before too, and those are quite relaxing. A treat, really, rare as they are."

Blake blushed at this, averting her gaze. She didn't want to think of Weiss as someone who might be comfortable in the nakedness of another woman. "You…being seen by others, touched by them, that doesn't bother you at all?" Thinking of the woman's preferences made Blake lift her arms around her torso, Shirt covering her or not, it didn't seem like enough.

"It annoys me, but, I suppose am used to it." Weiss said, earning a somewhat shocked expression. "Well, I am royalty. There are some luxuries, I suppose you could say, tied to being wealthy. However, I don't find it to be the least bit luxurious. If anything, it's a hassle. As for being out in the wilds, I have to bathe near Ruby. I'm not at all proficient enough with a blade to defend myself. Aquatic Grimm are particularly dangerous, more so than the ones trapped on land."

"Uh-huh…"

"What do you take me for? I'm a scholar, not a barbarian!"

"So your words last night…" Blake trailed off. "That you are…intrested….in women…"

"Completely true."

"Right…" Blake sighed, looking away.

"While I don't hate men, I am used to a particular way of life." Weiss said as she patted the bedside, gesturing for Blake to sit. "I prefer a woman attending me, female guards at my disposal."

"Is that it?"

"Well, my preferences go so far as to carnal desires as well. I'd rather a woman in my bed, instead of a man." Then Weiss waved the matter aside. "Obviously, you can understand this."

"No, I don't." Blake murmured. "Not really."

"You do not seem to hate the idea of being with a woman." Weiss observed cautiously. "Unless, of course, you do and have not told me such a thing."

"I…don't know." Blake's ears flattened back, feeling uncomfortable. "I've never been able to give that much thought." She had been born in an age of battle, her whole life had been reduced down to hearing the murmurs of war, and losing friends one by one. She had never given thought to romance, not because she wasn't interested, but because she had no one to be interested in.

Loss was so prevalent in her life, like a shadow at her back. How could she explore such a thing, when no one stayed around long enough for her to try?

Weiss didn't ask any further questions on the topic, seemingly forgoing the entire conversation. Tossing it aside as easily as the blankets. She smoothed her dress and gathered her shoes. "We should eat breakfast and continue onward. If we are to reach the castle in a timely manner, we must leave soon. Surely, your worries can wait until then."

* * *

As a Faunus, Kali had never known such obvious finery. Anything she could think of to ask for was brought to her immediately. Everything she requested had been reasonable, and really the thing she wanted most was time with her mate. Still, the servants had done their best to serve her. They had also done their best to keep their distance. The only person intent to check on her constantly had been the queen.

Winter was meticulous, always double and triple checking her facts, seeking more answers for questions eluding her.

Unfortunately Kali had very little to offer. She was a Faunus born and raised in the island villages. Her ability to fight was stunted, and she knew nothing of the wilds. What she knew of Menagerie came from the people she lived beside. Ghira knew more about the Grimm, because as the leader to his people, he had to know more. He had to be a strong, militant fighter, because it's what kept his people safe.

Not Kali though, her skills were best used elsewhere. Tensing the wounded, understanding medicine, and tending the fields for bountiful harvests.

Needless to say, when presented with pure colored powder, she couldn't even describe it. "I told you before, I have no idea what that is, I've never seen it before in my life."

"I find it hard to believe that a Faunus of your standing has never once seen dust." Winter said as she placed the vial back into her pocket. "How could you not have known what it is? Civilization requires dust to function in any capacity."

"Yours perhaps." Kali replied slowly, studying the woman in front of her carefully. "Ours did not require such a thing. I admit, my idea of civilization is quite a bit different from yours. Faunus are simple people, we live off the land, flora, and fauna that nature gives us. Faunus do not need…dust…"

"My sister claims there is dust all over Menagerie, crystals embedded deep in the mountain volcanoes."

"The volcanoes are deadly. Have you ever seen one erupt? No Faunus, in their right mind would venture near a volcano." Kali replied. "Most would never make it that far. There are Grimm in those forests. Even if you were to make a homeland on the other side of the island where all of those volcanoes are, all it would do is attract Grimm."

"I see." Winter thought on this, frowning deeply. "I've heard the Grimm are fierce, but you have ways to fight them, don't you?"

Kali only eyed the women in front of her, no less confused. "Grimm are more than happy to be left alone."

"I highly doubt that." Winter laughed.

"We can live alongside such dangerous Grimm because we do not venture into their lands, and we defend ours the moment they try to invade. The Grimm on the islands are not mindless. They have been there for far too long, and before humans made war, we maintained a sort of fragile peace among the Grimm." Kali's ears wilted at the mere thought, but it was true, and besides, it wasn't as if they had a choice.

"Grimm are deranged beasts."

"Beasts perhaps, but it is not impossible to live near them." Kali murmured. "Humans think the same of Faunus, don't they? That we are beasts, that we are nothing more than mindless animals?"

"A good number of humans, perhaps." Winter allowed.

"It is the same for Grimm." Kali wasn't sure how to feel about sitting and taking tea with a human, she had never been exposed to human kindness. Still, she had to try and trust this woman. "Grimm are dangerous creatures, but, I'd say they're no more dangerous than the humans who wish to see me dead."

"You'd pick Grimm over mankind?"

Kali nodded, almost sad that she even wanted to admit that sordid little truth. "Grimm attack indiscriminately. They are monsters, with no concept of empathy. That is to say, if you locked a defenseless human and a Faunus in the same room with a Grimm, both would be killed." She lifted her tea to her lips, as if it would somehow make the fact less bitter, but the words had already been stated. "Humans, however, choose to act violently even with the concept of empathy."

"Hmm." Winter nibbled on her lower lip as this woman presented a very valid, if not disgusting concern. "Faunus are not so different though, are they?"

"We are not so far removed from the human race." Kali agreed. "Faunus and Humans both have the capacity to kill. I don't deny that. Even though we fundamentally understand that doing such a thing is wrong...it still happens." The cat Faunus sighed then. "It makes you wonder who the real monsters are."

"I don't know about that." Another voice interrupted. "I'd rather entrust my back to a Faunus, than a Grimm any day."

Kali jumped and turned around to the open doorway, and the woman standing in it. "And who, may I ask, are you?"

"That tactless woman is Yang Xiao Long." Winter replied with a roll of her eyes, gesturing the blonde woman to come forward. "A frontline fighter with the capacity to do battle with her fists alone. She is also my wife, equal to me in station within my household, and my kingdom."

"Winter, come on, she's had a pretty shitty time. Not that I don't get it, we fucked up pretty badly, and that's on us." Yang said, pushing her wild head of hair out of her lilac eyes. "Hell, I'd take all the blame in the world if it'd make things right." She sighed at length then, hands falling to her haps, resting there. "Can I talk to her, alone?"

"I don't believe that to be wise."

"I didn't ask if it was wise, babe." Yang shot back. "I asked if you'd let me."

"I suppose I don't see an issue with it. However, it isn't up to me." Winter replied, glancing across the table. "Kali Belladonna is an honored guest that Weiss has invited and promised to protect. I will do nothing to complicate my sister's affairs, so I will leave the matter up to Kali."

"Well, you heard the lady." Yang shrugged, leaning heavily on the table, her palm supporting her. "Can we talk, or not?"

Kali closed her eyes, exasperation already weighing her down. "I want to see my mate. I was turned away three times today. If his health is waning so badly, I need to be there."

"Give me some of your time, and if I have to, I'll bust the damn door off its hinges myself." Yang promised. "So what do you say, can we have a little chat?"

Winter watched Kali nod in agreement before grasping into the collar of her wife's shirt. "Go have your little chat if you must, but don't you dare set anything else on fire..."

* * *

The kingdom of Atlas was sprawling, and Blake felt a little intimidated by the sounds of the people. Venders shouted in the streets, the clanging of smithy and whirl of the dust shops were not racket that Blake was used to. Atlas was a place of industry, every corner lacking the comforts of home. Cold stone and steel replaced it. Added to the dour weather, her arrival was not what she expected it to be. There were children who pointed to their carriage, gawking in awe at the novelty for what it was.

Weiss would occasionally address the guards that approached as the carriage moved, and sometimes waved to the citizens. It was obvious that Weiss was very well-liked among the kingdom, and Blake found it difficult to ignore the lines of people stuffing up the streets in their eagerness to see royalty pass by. Occasionally, Weiss dropped a few coins onto the cobbled path, smiling as the poor found their way to it.

Ruby, for her part, huddled unhappily in the corner of the carriage, refusing to take part in all of the celebration. She didn't look out, and from where the girl was sitting, the citizens couldn't see inside. Instead, she muttered unhappily about the fanfare, as though it was little more than a burden to her. Weiss merely explained it away, saying the crowds of people made Ruby nervous, which the reaper herself didn't deny.

Eventually, the poor districts ended, and the wealthy began.

Blake could tell the difference. It seemed as though there wasn't a middle class to be found. She considered this as they continued deeper still into the city, the large castle catching Blake's sights as it came into proper view in all of its glory.

"Ruby," Weiss began, eyeing her friend carefully. It was the sort of gaze that attracted Ruby's attention immediately. "We shall proceed through the private entryway. I shall go to my rooms alone. You shall escort Blake to a private room to bathe, and to be dressed accordingly. It is only after we have been properly prepared that we shall meet up with my sister."

"What shall I get for her to dress in?" Ruby asked, eyeing the Faunus.

Weiss thought on this. "Have her borrow one of Yang's ceremonial robes."

"Kind of cold for this weather, isn't it?" Ruby asked.

"The thick ones made for the chill, Ruby. I know Yang had several made." Weiss clarified. "We do not have a dress prepared, and the garb of the military would not do. Your uncle's clothes pool around her body, and yours would be too small. It's not question mine would be impossible. A flowing ceremonial robe, one of Yang's or Winter's, would suit her fine."

"You should just go to Winter right away dressed as you are." Ruby flipped her cloak back. "She'll be aggravated that you waited."

"Then send a guard for your sister. Have her informed of the matter."

Ruby rolled her eyes, but there was a tiny tidbit of affection laid there before Weiss in the form of a small nod. "You know if I do that, you probably wouldn't even make it into your underthings before Yang finds you."

"Lacking in decorum as she is, I have no doubt." Weiss grumbled as she crossed her arms at one too many bad memories. "It will not have been the first time she's barged into my rooms uninvited. I doubt highly that it will be the last. I'm hoping, however, that she will be more interested in harassing you, seeing as you're her sister."

"As are you, by law." Ruby reminded her. "Weiss, you are one she worries for. If something were to ever happen to me, it would be you that would be left exposed. The kingdom can't stand for that right now, and you know it." Ruby closed her eyes and shrugged. "My death means nothing in comparison to yours. If I were to die, she would grieve deeply, yes…but if you were to die, the kingdom would suffer. Besides, we were raised to fight, that's in our blood."

"So it is…" Weiss allowed distantly. "Blake, your parents should be in the castle, but you must meet with my sister before you can visit your father."

"If he is still alive." Blake murmured bitterly, emotions sharp, like glass shattering from her lips.

"He will be." Weiss promised. "There are no better doctors in Atlas than our own. His life is a delicate one, Blake, powerful and needed. Without it, our very peace can be tossed back into the rage cesspit of war. Yang and Winter of all people know this. If he has not survived, neither have the doctors by this point."

"That isn't a comfort either." Blake grumbled, eyeing the castle she was being taken to.

* * *

Back at the castle, Kali followed Yang down a private hallway on one of the upper floors. Eventually it took them outward to the balcony. It was chilly, and the wind bit into them. For a long time, Yang didn't say anything, trying to gather her thoughts and find the best apology she could.

When that failed her, she turned to look at the Faunus woman. She rested her back on the finely crafted railing, ground stone with the likeness of several small creatures of Grimm. It was a believed piece of architecture, and the gardens below were always a sight to see. She didn't look at it though, only the Faunus woman, only the depth in amber eyes.

"I like it here." Yang finally said. "It's not what I thought it would be. Atlas and Vale never really agreed with each other, so when I came, I thought I was doing the noble thing. I figured, throwing myself away so that my people could be happy was the right thing to do." Yang averted her gaze then. "I quickly came to realize there was no honor in that, just selfishness. I was still fighting, people were still dying by my hand…war didn't stop just because I switched sides."

She lifted her gaze to Kali. "I brought you up here so I could apologize, but then I realized, I probably would do it over again if I had to…and if I would go that far, then I must not be as sorry about everything as I think I am…but, that's not right either, because I didn't know the Belladonna's were alive back then."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Me either." Yang sighed. "I guess that's what I mean. I'm sorry that I'm not more sorry. I can't say I would have changed things if I had known, because that didn't happen, and I can't go back in time to find out." Then, more nearest than she had let herself be in front of a total stranger, she bowed deeply. "I don't even know if I would have been able to."

"Then, why did you bring me up here?" Kali asked. "What reason could you possibly have?"

"To atone." Yang said, pulling out a small, sharp, blade. "All of my honor has left me. My life, a promise of peace and prosperity in and of itself, has been nothing but a fabricated lie. As the leaders of your people, you are able to demand compensation for the torture you suffered. My very blood is bound to this service. It's the reason I was traded in the first place. Peace was not attained for you, honor was not obeyed. You can take my life. You can drain it away if you wanted, it would be within your rights, and I would not blame you if you did."

Kali looked to the blade and felt sick. Yang knelt before her, neck outstretched and unwavering. She would really allow her life to be taken, this was obvious. There was something inherently sinister about that. A cloudy implication that left Kali feeling the echoes of battle wash over her. She was no seasoned fighter like her mate. Though she knew her way around self-defense, she fought near the front of the battle to be by his side. Not because skill itself warranted her such a position, but because she loved him too much to let him fight alone.

She could fight blindly in confusion, she could lose herself to the haze of battle if she must to survive. Yet, for all of that, she could not, would not, be the woman's executioner.

"Get that horrendous implement of death out of my sight." Kali huffed, a shiver rolling down her spine. "I've seen enough bloodshed…I don't want more of it."

Yang slowly lowered her blade, but had yet to stand. Instead, she closed her eyes, heaving out a sigh as she lowered herself further to the ground. "Atlas can't provide the kinds of support your people need. A whole territory of people without a place to go is tragic, but Atlas isn't the kind of place to have an abundance of sustainable goods." This wasn't an apology either, just fact. One Yang had desperately tried to find her way around, but quite frankly, Atlas wasn't like the other kingdoms where food grew plentifully.

"So, obviously the solution you give me is to paint the very ground you stand on red with your blood." Kali didn't know what disgusted her more. The fact this this human seemed so quick to die, or than she wanted to do so stripped of the very honor she was said to have. "That's largely unsatisfactory, you know. Pick yourself up off the ground. The image is…unpleasant…" not to mention unsettling, but Kali was afraid to give a voice to the offerings in front of her.

She didn't even want to think about it.

It took Yang to push herself into a standing position. She hadn't visibly shown her trebling, but she had truly been afraid her life would have been ended. Still, her offer had been genuine, in spite of the way her very soul had lurched in her throat. The relief was a thing that sagged her body, turning it limp even as she forced herself to stand, renewed and away from her grievances.

Her lilac eyes couldn't bring themselves clarity as she blinked away the emotion trapped in those pools. Not quite tears forming, but the salty sting lingering there, none the less.

"There is nothing else I can do for you." Yang said. Everything else wasn't in her power. The plight of the Faunus was not her concern when it came to the eyes of the people. "It kind of sucks, all things considered…but, that's just the way it is…and…if you don't take my life, you'll be in no place to make demands for help. Denying my death is the same as denying the fact that I'm supposed to be a bringer of peace…it's like turning your back on the very thing keeping the war at bay."

"It was a treaty we were never given the option to agree to." Kali told Yang. "If you knew Ghira at all, you'd know he never would have agreed to those terms. Lives don't equal more lives. Souls aren't just collateral for deals to be made, and if that's how you humans think, you're all idiots."

"But, it's that ideology that's keeping you from killing me. It's that same one that's keeping more battles from going on…because to kill any of the hero's traded to a different kingdom would be a tragedy." Yang protested. "It's exactly why you feel the way you do, that these agreements have worked."

"Until they don't." Kali said bitterly. "One day, someone will come along who will look upon you, as if you are filth to be expunged. When that day comes, your peace will be no more than a lost cause. Your idea of peace isn't really peace at all, it's the eye of the storm…I'm done here. I want to see my mate. That was what we agreed upon, Yang Xiao Long."

Kali turned, only to run into another body in the doorway, this one unyielding as the woman's short stature stood firm in spite of the impact. Kali toppled backwards only to have her arm snatched by the cloaked figure. "Don't take it personally. That's just the way my sister thinks. Self-sacrificing to the end…"

"Ruby?" Yang murmured, surprised.

"I'm telling Winter about that, but the way." Ruby said, looking around the Faunus woman to the tall blonde still standing nearest the balcony. "That was stupid, Yang, plain and simple. She really could have killed you!"

"And she would have been within her rights to issue that grievance!"

"Because pissing Winter off by letting yourself die is in the top ten most brilliant ideas you've ever had…castle life's made you soft and squishy." Ruby sighed before looking the Faunus woman up and down. "Huh, well, mother must not be like daughter." She said more to herself, than to the people in front of her. "Anyway, we don't have time for this, Yang. Stop trying to get yourself killed and go tell Winter that Weiss is back. She's even brought a guest with her."

"My daughter." Kali interrupted. "She is here?"

"She's being a pain in the butt about getting into proper clothes until she can go see her dad." Ruby sighed again. "But yeah, Blake's here."

"Take me to her." Kali demanded with gentle insistence.

"Uh…" It wasn't in Ruby's plans, and she looked over to Yang questioningly. "Yang…um…those weren't my orders."

"Screw your orders, Ruby. Take her." Yang brushed off. "Take her to see her daughter…and then take the both of them to see Ghira…I'll keep the princess from blowing a gasket."

"You really do have a death wish..." Ruby said with a roll of her eyes before she turned back to Kali. "I took Blake back to my place to get cleaned up, so if you want to see her, you'll have to follow me."

* * *

Blake set down the hairbrush she had been given and looked at herself in the mirror.

Besides the pallor in her cheeks, she cleaned up well when given the chance. Her hair was a bit more uneven than she would have liked, and the attire was not made to fit her form. The colors were certainly not her most flattering either. Still, she could look at herself and see a woman beneath all of the rough treatment that two long years had given to her. Inwardly, she felt she could use a haircut and some more meat on her bones, but at least she didn't look like a scoundrel.

Golden eyes scrutinized her form carefully. She didn't need to impress the older woman, she didn't even need to please her. Weiss was adamant that they would be married, and Blake had the distinct feeling that the younger sibling wouldn't take no for an answer. Not even from her dearest older sister, queen or not.

That certainly seemed to be the personality that Weiss exuded, and while Blake was still less than enthusiastic about the idea, she found herself getting swept along in the idea that maybe there was hope for her people. A cynical voice snarled in the back of her mind, reminding her of what she could do to Weiss if she truly wanted. The white haired woman was no warrior.

Blake however, knew battle, knew how to kill, and how to do it soundlessly. She could leave the princess a bloodied heap if she needed to, and while it was a thought Blake didn't want to have, it stayed there in the shadows anyway. A whisper of the war that Blake had been forced to endure. An upbringing that would not be stifled.

A knock came to the door urgently, and Blake called the person in, thinking it to be Ruby. Another unkind retort on her lips dying the moment she saw Kali come into view. Before she could find her voice anew, her world was a sea of dark hair, a crushing embrace, and the scent of her mother. A giddy purr resonating deep within the woman's chest in delight, and Blake answered with one of her own in kind.

"Oh, Blake, my sweet baby girl." Kali breathed, her voice rasping harshly against the emotions stabbing at her. "I was so worried."

Almost as if she had forgotten what a hug even was, Blake slowly lifted her arms to return the embrace. "I missed you too." She said, but in truth, the shock of the matter had left her unsure of how she really felt. She had been so dead set on seeing her parents, but now that her mother stood in front of her, a newfound emotion clawed at her. Amidst the comfort soaking into her, shame cackled in the depths of her mind.

After all, this moment was fleeting. Blake had made a deal with the devil.

Kali pulled away only far enough to get a good look at Blake. Eyes dragging up and down her form looking for injury and illness, finding none. "You look so beautiful…oh, but sweetheart, is it really true? That you're to be mated to Weiss Schnee?"

"Married." Blake said as she turned to look herself in the mirror, needing the distraction. "Not…not mated. Married only."

"Blake? I don't understand." Kali breathed, hand reaching up to cup her daughter's cheek. She couldn't recall the last time she was able to do so freely, without the weight of shackles cutting into her wrists for her trouble. "What do you mean, you shall not be mated?"

"Human's don't believe in mating ceremonies." Blake said forcing a smile, showing the ring on her finger. "They have their own practices, but you know that, don't you?"

"I…well, yes dear. Of course I know that, but this union is not one between two humans." Kali sighed, but nodded her head anyway. "To be honest, I doubted the rumors to be true. I hoped that they weren't, but she has asked for your hand, hasn't she?"

"I her own way." Blake allowed.

Kali nodded earnestly, as if the answer were clearly obvious. "She must be willing to accept that implication then."

"This is a political union, mom…it's only that. Nothing else." Blake pushed away her thoughts on the matter. Yes it hurt. It always would, but she closed her eyes and took a long, slow, breath. "This is for the good of our people. For the Humans, and the Faunus. If I do this, we can go back to Menagerie. We can have our homeland back."

"Oh, to hell with Menagerie." Kali spat, her own heart aching at her words. Sentimentality aside, it was the truth. "Blake, those islands are not the only place our people can settle. You must understand, it is not the land that makes the home, but the community that you cultivate. You are not responsible for the plight of our people…you…" Kali closed her eyes. "Blake, you do not have to do this."

"I am the chieftain's daughter."

"You are a foolish girl, that is what you are." Kali retorted. "You are his daughter, that is a given. However, you are more of his make in bullheaded idiocy than you are in birthright. The islands aren't ours anymore. Blake, you must understand that."

"They aren't." Blake nodded. "But they can be. They _will_ be. Weiss has promised a place for our people. She vowed to me that the Faunus would see a place on her soil. Getting married is a small price to pay for that."

Kali bit her lower lip. "I cannot condone a betrothal for the sake of our people, Blake. I cannot ask that of you, and neither can your father." She said, her position on the matter firm and unwilling to budge. "We won't ask that of you."

"Our people will, mom. They should, they have every right to expect it." Blake said sadly. "What's one more life at the mercy of a kingdom already prone to doing so much wrong? What's one more hardship in the face of all of that? This is for the greater good, and I know you can see the merit in that."

"Do you love this woman?" Kali asked.

"No."

At this, Kali sighed yet again. "Do you believe, that over time perhaps, you can bring yourself to love her?"

"That's…" Blake shook her head. "Who could say, really? She is a strange human."

"Yet, in spite of this, you will wed her?" Kali asked again, almost as if she couldn't possibly believe it. For her daughter's sake, she didn't want to.

"Yes." Blake said, feeling the emotion catch in her throat. "I will."

* * *

While it was true that the castle housed amazing medical facilities, Blake was afraid to step closer to the ailing man resting in bed. His breathing was labored, but he raised his hand in greeting, as if to summon his visitors to his side. His eyes were blurry, and sweat stained them as Kali rushed over to blot the liquid away. Blake was slower, her steps tentative as her hands closed around his. A sob in the back of her throat as much from sadness as from relief.

"Blake…" He breathed, the rumble in his voice deeper than usual as he forced her name from his mouth with great effort. "You are alright."

"Of course I'm alright." Blake said with a soft smile. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"I never doubted you, but the situation…" He coughed, gasping for air. "Your mother and I were very concerned. I'm glad it was all for nothing. It does my heart good to see you alive and well." His other hand came down to brace the bed as he tried to push himself forward, only for Blake to slam on his shoulders to hold him down.

"Dad, no!" She chastised, seeing the bandages wrapped around his torso.

He winced before dragging a smile across his face. "I am fine."

"You are severely injured, and there's fluid in your lungs." Blake admonished hotly, her ears flattening down in her anger. "You are _not_ fine."

"I am not dead, either." He replied through a chuckle, only to feel another hand gently slap at him.

"Ghira." Kali admonished. "You shouldn't make light of it."

"I'll have you know, I take every breath as a blessing." Ghira said to his mate with a playful smirk. "I am happy to have received such hospitality…it was more than I expected."

"But it's still not enough." Blake told him. "You're…really sick…"

The footfalls of another pattered across the flooring. "The doctors have done all they can to keep him stable. It's his aura being held back for so long that's making his recovery so slow." Weiss replied stepping forward with a key that she had to go to great lengths to get from the family vault. Her father had hidden it away quite well, for reason Weiss couldn't even begin to guess at. Not even Winter had known of its location, only one person did.

And that man was so inebriated beyond believe that it took both herself and Winter to get him to speak of the key and its location.

"You will have to help him turn on his side." Weiss said simply, dangling the object of freedom between her fingers. "I won't be able to reach the keyhole otherwise."

"You actually have it…" Blake said somewhat shocked.

"I had to get it, but it is currently in my hands, yes." Weiss said as she came to stand by Blake's side. "Did you doubt me?"

To be honest was a hard thing to do, but she averted her gaze and nodded. "I didn't think-"

"No, I don't want to hear it." Weiss interrupted. "I only have clearance to keep this key out of the vault for a short while. I'm not my sister after all. If you want these neck pieces taken off of you, you'll have to hurry." Weiss said as she stepped behind Blake, pulling the neckpiece flush against the woman's skin as she stuck the key into the hole, wrenching it open before the thick piece of metal fell to the ground. "Kali, you're next."

She worked quickly with the next piece before turning her attention to Ghira. The large man needed help to be moved, and it took all of Blake's strength to help support her father as her mother helped to roll him onto his side. A deep cough resonated from his lungs Weiss removed the thick and heavy metal. The man's repressed aura flared wildly around him before receding inward to begin healing his wounds. His eyes closed as he leaned heavily against his daughter, falling into a deep sleep.

"Dad?" Blake asked worriedly. "Dad!?"

"He's fine sweetheart." Kali told her, helping to lay him back down. "He just needs rest."

"A lot of rest." Weiss added dryly. "I must be getting this key and these pieces to the vault. After that we need to meet with my sister." Weiss said, giving Blake a slow look of careful study. Truth be told, she was still angry that Yang let the woman wander around instead of doing as Weiss told her. Still, this wasn't worth a fight. Not yet. "You will be able to return after that…but for the record, you shall be married to me, not to Yang. I'd appreciate if you listened to my requests when I make them."

"Requests?" Blake shot back. "Or orders."

Weiss sighed at this. "See them as you will…" Her exit was regal but swift, carrying a sense of duty as she continued onward.

Kali eyed Blake, and then back to the now empty hallway. "You cannot be intending to marry that woman. She is cold, perhaps I'd go so far as to say she's heartless."

"Maybe she is. I don't know." Blake agreed as she sat down on a nearby stool. "But, she kept her promise. She did what I asked…dad's alive, because of her."

* * *

Winter felt an ache begin behind her eyes when Weiss presented her intentions in full. A glance over to the Kali showed an equal distaste for the proceedings. If the two of them could agree on anything, it was that neither one of them approved of this union. Still, Kali was powerless to stop it. She could not control her daughter's choices, even if she disapproved of them. Blake was a woman, young perhaps, but an adult all the same.

Loathe though she was to admit it, Winter faced the same problem with Weiss.

She could demand that her sister see reason. Complain up one side and down the other that this would never work in her favor. She could spend hours chastising Weiss for her ludicrous ideas, and poor suitor. Winter even considered doing so, but the warm hand resting over hers halted the words on the tip of her tongue. A glance to the side revealing lilac eyes peering into her, pleading for Winter to rethink her disagreements more carefully.

Rage fueled retorts died on Winter's lips as that gaze continued.

The era of their father's reign was over. Upon his death, one stolen by her own sword, Winter had promised Atlas a more thoughtful and enlightened ruler.

Family honor had to be considered too, and the lifeblood of the Belladonna's could cast that honor aside. Therefore, her tongue was tied in the matter. To deny Weiss her choice in a suitor, denied her sister's very freedom of choice. She couldn't, in good faith, belittle her sister's choices when the girl had shown only loyalty to the crown.

It didn't mean, however, that Winter had to be fond of this outcome.

"This is a grandiose statement, Weiss." Winter coolly replied. "You do realize this, correct?"

"It needs doing." Weiss replied. "Unless you intend to present her to our brother…"

The mere suggestion had Winter balking, but she assumed that to be her sister's plan. "He's too young! Not to mention, to narrow minded to entertain a woman, much less seek congress with her. You should know this."

"Of course I do!"

"Then why even suggest it?"

"Because he is young, he is not a child." Weiss retorted. "Younger men are married to older women all the time, and vice versa."

"Only when that young man is capable of his duties as a man, Weiss." Winter replied, Thinking of her teenage brother. No, one day, he would be ready, but that was not going to be any time soon. "We both know he would not be able to run a household, let alone a territory."

"Then, we turn back to my original statement that something must be done. The answer, to me at least, is obvious." Weiss said simply, her youthful ways seeming almost haughty when contrasted with her sister's own.

"Is it, now?"

"As far as I see it, yes." Weiss said. "A wedding is the only way." The way they looked down their noses at each other was hardly disrespect. It was merely the way tacticians spoke, and though Weiss would never have the same skill with a blade, her intellect alone allowed them to stand on equal footing during negotiations. "Turning a Faunus into a a member of our household would be the highest regard Atlas could give to a Faunus."

"It's a brazen move, dear sister."

"Possibly." Weiss agreed. "I have given great thought to the risks. I am not deterred."

"I cannot provide you with a place for all of these people taking shelter beyond the walls. Faunus or not, we have no room, and little in the way of emergency supplies." Winter told Weiss with only a hint of acid coloring her annoyance. "I cannot simply snap my fingers and demand more. Our kingdom must be given the ability to survive the harsh conditions first and foremost. You know this."

"Which is why I will be taking as many Faunus as I can with me." Weiss announced. "If they want a plot of land, they will have to rejuvenate it by their own means. It's the gamble they must be willing to take. Endure the cold on their own merits, or endure the islands with what little aid I can provide. The choice is theirs."

"You're the ones that blew it up." Blake growled under her breath.

"And you speak out of turn." Winter shot back at the girl, causing Yang to groan.

"I'm going to set this whole damn table on fire if we don't just relax a second." The blonde said, hand slapping onto the wood to make a point. "None of this really matters. Weiss is going to do what she wants. We're going to do what we want…and you…" she looked over to Kali and shrugged. "Well I don't know what hell the Faunus will do, but I'll help if I can."

"With all due respect, the dust there is high quality." Ruby said, standing behind Weiss. "If we get rid of the Grimm, we could mine that dust. If the Faunus don't want to use it, fine, we can use it for trades instead. The kingdoms will happily take it."

"That's suicide!" Kali argued. "You cannot go around fighting those Grimm."

"It would provide the means to barter for the supplies you will need to rebuild." Winter said thoughtfully. "Especially with our kingdom attached to the mines in name and honor."

"The Grimm are deadly, though." Ruby continued. "They're not like the Grimm on land around here. We would need good hunters to pull it off, but if we could…there's a lot of money to be made."

"She's right." Yang butted in. "Winter, it's a different climate, and the Grimm grow large. The aquatic ones grow scales like armor plating. They'd need a small army of hunters to cull the number of Grimm around there."

"Would you say such a risk is worth it?" Winter asked.

"Yes." Ruby interrupted. "It is."

"Ruby, hush now. I didn't ask you." Winter barked, giving Ruby a hard glare. "Yang, I will trust your judgement on this."

"It's…hard to say." Yang said uneasily, not liking being put in the limelight on such a complicated topic. "On the one hand, it's going to be hard to convince the people. Telling them Atlas forces need to be sent down to clear Grimm out of an area that the humans won't be given priority in..." Yang shook her head. "Uh, yeah, they won't like that."

"On the other hand, Weiss can't build a territory without the means to self-sustain." Winter pondered aloud. "In the long term, it's anyone's guess at what the right answer is."

"It's either we sink our efforts into Menagerie, or we give it up as a safe hold." Weiss replied. "Our father left it in shambles, Winter. We can dispute the facts of the matter all day, but it all comes down to the lands we've acquired. If we want to cultivate them into something sustainable, we have to be willing to take the losses on all fronts. If you aren't willing to do that Winter, which I would understand, then to cast Menagerie aside entirely would be the best course of action."

"We cannot relinquish the territory now. It would be a slap to the army, the people of Atlas, and to the meaning of the throne itself." Winter sighed. "Not to mention, it would mean denying your honor too."

"Then we have no choice."

"I didn't say that, either, Weiss." Winter replied. "Given enough time, the climate and environment will rejuvenate on its own."

"Not within your lifetime." Weiss shot back. "Or mine for that matter. It takes a long time to leave the soil to do on its own what farmers can do in a decade. Some things must be left to nature, but my studies have proven that nature and sitting on our hands will not be enough. Not if you wish to see the territory used within a reasonable amount of time. If you wish for Menagerie to sit as a piece of pride for Atlas, then effort must be poured into its reestablishment."

Winter bit her lip, but then sighed in resignation. "Fine, but take Qrow with you, I want that pain in the ass out of my castle…"

* * *

Two weeks later, on a bitter cold morning, a wedding was held privately in the castle's small chapel. Though the media happened to be all over the event, the viewing was not mean to be a public affair. Instead it was regarded as a highly respected and personal event. Weiss spoke few words to the press, and Winter said fewer still, but what they spoke of promised drastic changed in the future as the kingdom moved forward.

However, a true Atlas wedding was not complete without proof of consummation, and after a large meal, plenty of prayer, and a few choice gifts to the married couple, Blake was taken from her new wife's side to be prepared for the night to come.

"So, is everything ready?" Weiss asked Winter quietly when they had also been excused from the somber festivities.

"Everything except for you." Winter replied, looking her sister up and down. "The sheets are a puritan white, as is tradition. However, Weiss, I know you do not love this woman. Therefore, I should warn you. You cannot fake sexual congress."

"I know that." Weiss blushed deeply, averting her gaze.

"Some assume a few smatterings of blood will be enough to fool, but that is not the case. You should not seek to bleed your lover, especially not a woman who has been in enough battles to have torn that which makes her a maiden." Winter replied, offering sage words of advice to her sister. "To be blunt, sex has a reek to it. A scent that will be captured by the sheets. It is this proof that will be sought after."

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Weiss muttered to herself.

"Well, at least your wife won't see fit to wave your linens around like a flag."

"That was one memory I didn't want to ever remember." Weiss shot back, recalling perfectly enough Yang's pride in her union. Perhaps too much pride in retrospect. It wasn't only the clergy and the family that had seen the bedding, but the entire castle guard and then some. "I doubt Blake will be proud of this." She went on to say nervously. "To be frank, I'm not going to be proud of this…I'm about to lay with a Faunus woman…I have never taken a Faunus woman to my bed before."

"They are different than the concubine's father kept?" Winter asked knowing that Weiss had experimented around with several of the household maids in the past. They both had when no one was looking, and though she wasn't sure just how far her sister had gone, she was sure that Weiss had been careful to leave herself intact. That was not a fear Winter needed to have with Yang, the both of them were of the finest caliber, with bodies warn by the tides of war.

"Anatomically, I assume not." Weiss only shrugged. "There are traditions among Faunus, but I did not take the time to study them. I presumed that it wasn't a complication that I needed to be careful of. Certainly, here in Atlas, observing any of her customs would be meaningless if they conflicted with our own."

At this, Winter nodded. "Would they conflict, or not, I suppose isn't the question at hand. Rather, you must decide, Weiss. Will you will honor the woman who waits in your bed chamber?"

"Honor her?" Weiss parroted. "I hardly intend to grovel at her feet."

"To heed her wishes, dear sister, is to honor her." Winter pointed out. "You may do with her as you wish, it's not my place to speak ill of your intentions…" Winter smiled then, her hand falling deftly onto her sister's shoulder. "A word of advice, though. In our lives, to find any reprieve at all is near impossible. I believe this is the role of your wife. Expect to take comfort in her, expect her to give you that comfort…but be willing, Weiss, to do everything in your power to offer the same in return."

"I could ask you of your tolerance when it comes to Yang, but we both know you tolerate nothing. You simply turn a blind eye to her actions entirely."

At this, Winter laughed wholeheartedly. "I find that Yang is an often prone to intentionally acting idiotic. She seeks levity, so she cultivates it for herself. I make no excuses for her blatant disregard for propriety. In fact, my military, this kingdom, is better for it. I'm sure many disagree, but, this is my household, not theirs." To that she removed her hand, and schooled her features once more. "Blake is your wife, she does not belong to the kingdom. Should you choose to observe her traditions, whatever those may be, this family will survive either way."

"Even if it were to be a conflict on interest?" Weiss asked.

Winter licked her lips, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword. "This is my kingdom, my domain. I will cut down any who dare call my actions, or yours for that matter, into question. The people should not expect my leniency, but rather, be thankful I gift it at all. Therefore, the interests of this kingdom are strictly where I place them, Weiss, and not anywhere else."

* * *

It was too easy. Without the implications surrounding mating, it was easy to say the vows, offer a quick kiss, sign her name on a document. It was so simple to be a married woman.

Perhaps it was because love had nothing to do with it. She promised herself, she would consummate her union with Weiss, as Atlas expected, and then that would be the end of it. The deeds would be done, over with in one horrible day. She would be bound to Weiss for the rest of her life, but never again would she offer her body, or even the depths of her mind.

She would be a quiet, complicit wife. All of the things Weiss would expect…in return, her people wouldn't be abused by the kingdom intentionally. Once again, she reminded herself of the same thing she always forcefully drilled into her mind. It was a fair trade. Whenever she doubted herself, or Weiss, she closed her eyes and told herself the same thing. It was a fair trade. One Faunus, for the sake of thousands. It was a fair trade. Her father was alive. Weiss was keeping her word down to the very letter so far.

Therefore, so far, it was a fair trade.

She waited in the bedroom, immaculate as it was. She had only a white silk robe on, tied neatly so that Weiss could have her at a moment's notice. A pull of the white sash, and she would be left entirely exposed. All of her body hair had been removed save for a small carefully groomed triangle above her womanhood. It was clipped sorter than she would have kept it normally.

She felt lesser for it, inwardly snarling when the maids had instructed it was for her wife's preference she keep it that way.

A mate wouldn't demand such trivial things. They might request it, might boldly partake in grooming to help their mates achieve the desired appearance. Yet to make such demands without ever once considering how their mate might feel? That was wrong.

Then again, Weiss was not her mate, and she had to keep that in mind. Most well-to-do humans prided themselves on being as different from Faunus as possible. That meant ridding themselves of all body hair that was not located on top of their head.

Still, she reminded herself as she rubbed her bare thighs together _, this was_ , and would continue to be, _a fair trade_.

Weiss finally entered the room, donned in a royal blue robe made of the finest silk. Blake suspected there was little else covering the woman, and idly she kept her eyes glued to her. Weiss wordlessly stepped forward. For now, she had only one task, and that was to lay claim to the woman in her bed. She swallowed hard as she took a seat, the bed creaking under her weight.

"So…" Weiss began aloofly. "We are married now, as far as the eyes of the public are concerned…but the ceremonial council hold a higher standard." She flicked her gaze over to Blake, feeling lost, unable to navigate this very difficult slope. She wanted this to at least be enjoyable, but, she would understand if Blake wanted done with the task as quickly as possible.

"Why hesitate?" Blake asked. "You want me, you have me. This was what we agreed on."

"We did." And she held fast to her belief that it was the correct thing to do. "I do…but…" Weiss looked away then. "Do you think me a good person, Blake?" She asked, unsure of what the Faunus actually thought of her.

"Honestly?" Blake asked in return, "I don't know."

Rephrasing her question, she turned to look at the woman pointedly. "Do you think that I am able to take you, when it is obvious you want nothing to do with me?" Weiss looked down at the sheets. "It was true, what you said before…that your dislike and your disapproval were two different things."

"And this changes things, how?"

"You were also right to assume that I would expect your compliance in this." Weiss continued, her voice wavering, and unsure. "We are, in our own ways, servants to the greater populous. At least, that's what I assumed of my position…and therefore, what I assumed yours would become."

"Again, I ask you, did that somehow change?"

Weiss shook her head. "I don't know. Now that we are bound together, a need for honesty arises that I hadn't before considered. I had planned everything up until this moment. I've planned the aftermath, toiled away making sure everything was put into place. The problem is, those considerations never included you…and yet, here you are."

"Yes." Blake sighed. "Here I am."

Weiss wasn't sure how to feel, other than a strange sense of exposure she had never before experienced. "My sister is not pleased with our union, your mother isn't either…but they do see the logic in it…and to be quite blunt, the logic was all I concerned myself with…and yet...this moment is one that should not be logical."

Blake nodded, she felt the same. She had always presumed she would give herself to a person who held her heart, but this was not the case, and all of her expectations had been tossed aside. "Well, I suppose in this case, logic is all we will ever achieve."

Weiss sighed greatly. "Yes, you're right. Then I suppose there's no need to hesitate further. We might as well be done with it."

Blake nodded, accepting the proceeding to be as cold and calculated as ever. It would not be a fulfilling experience, they both knew it, and there was no love in the act. None at all, but it was the promise that so bound them, and so, they accepted their union for what it was worth, and for all of the things it would never be.

* * *

Weiss wasn't satisfied with that that lukewarm sentiment.

They moved to Menagerie, and in the following months, they began building the settlements that the people would flock to. The tasks at hand were difficult. Securing supplies came first. There were many nights Weiss went without food, the meager offerings of the community were hardly enough at all. Cleaning water, hunting expeditions, and construction took up most of the endeavors in the first few weeks.

The ones proceeding it were a battle of sharp wit, penning letters, making visits, sending hunters deeper into the wooded area, some never to return, slain by the gigantic beasts.

Ruby was away more often than not, and Weiss had never felt more alone. Without her most trusted friend at her side, Weiss felt as if she couldn't rely on anyone to uplift her from her worries. Blake was busy spending time with her family, helping the Faunus rebuild what had so easily been taken away.

She held no illusions that this would be her life, but, it was largely empty. Void of everything Weiss had grown used to. She missed simply being able to watch the sun set in the company of another, to eat that disgusting jerky that kept her from being famished on the road. She missed Ruby's remarks. The dry ones, the daft ones, the downright inappropriate ones…she missed her friend, and the simplicity of their travels.

But, Ruby's place was the wilds, and her ability to lead the other hunters correctly in the deadly environment demanded her attention. She couldn't abandon them. Ruby visited when she could, but the deeper they went into the forests cutting a trail, the longer it would take her to return…and dutifully, Weiss waited.

Since the territory belonged to Weiss, the Belladonna residence was now her domain. Yet, it didn't feel like home. She felt as if she were a stranger, an outsider looking upon her land with nothing to be proud of, no reason to care, and to make matters worse, she was not approached in her sadness. So, she did strictly what she was supposed to do, working herself to the bone to stave off the lonely reality that had set in.

The Faunus who once showed her murmurs of fearful gratitude ignored her, so she worked harder, until one day she collapsed.

Malnourished and dehydrated on a sandy beach just on the outskirts of the fishing docks, she laid there, unmoving. Between the sweltering heat, and high tide, she considered letting the elements take her.

It would be so easy to close her eyes, to just give up…and after trying so hard, and coming so far, she felt, perhaps, it would be fine. Her death would in turn leave everything to Blake, as her will stipulated. Exhausted, lonely, and feeling as though she had no real reason to persist, she closed her eyes and drew a fleeting breath as she felt the waters wash over her feet. They were warm, warmer than she had felt in a while, and she realized that was the worst tragedy of all.

To die, never having felt the joy she knew others had, that was terrifying. Fearsome, because death itself did not scare her.

Living in this perpetual state of emptiness…nothing had scared her more in her entire life, and she had no way to explain that.

No way at all, to wash away the depth of her heart shattering realization…and without Ruby constantly at her side, she felt as though she truly had nothing. Choosing to pick herself up, rest, and recuperate should have been an easy choice to make…but the waters were so tempting.

So, she didn't move, falling asleep in the soft, warm, sand.

Blake sighed as she watched the waters soak her wife's clothing. They were dirty, covered in cement powder and other messy substances. Weiss herself was no cleaner, and her appearance had grown pale and bony over the weeks. The woman was exhausted, they all were, but Blake knew the look of a person who had completely given up. There was a deadness in their eyes, a slowly growing, perpetual, understanding.

It didn't happen overnight, it was a dawning realization. Once a person was convinced of it though, it was hard to get them to see otherwise.

Many had died that way in the prison. Blake watched it happen, and several times, considered doing so herself…so she knew that upward gaze intimately.

Wordlessly she stepped forward, wading into the slowly rising tide, lifting the woman into her arms effortlessly. Soaking her own clothing in the process, she paid little mind to it. Weiss truly had lost a lot of weight, not that she had much meat on her bones to begin with.

"Just leave me here."

"Weiss?"

"Please…"

"They say souls who die maliciously linger to become Grimm." Blake said, spouting the old wives tale dryly. "You'd be a vicious one, don't you think?"

"It's just a fairytale…"

"They may be old, but they have to have come from somewhere. For all you know, they could be based out of truth."

"Then, I'll be a Grimm."

"You don't want that."

"You don't know what I want."

"Idiot."

"I know."

"You're a worthless sack of shit…giving up like this."

"You're right."

"I won't give you the satisfaction. Not here. Not now."

"I'm tired."

"Then take a fucking nap."

"...not that kind of tired."

Blake sighed, the water droplets marking their way as she walked along the shoreline quietly. This was the thing she always missed, being able to put her tones in the sand, feel the salty sea breeze in her hair. Listen to the soft breaking of the waves. This was what she hungered for, what she dreamed of for so long in the dark cell. She was sure, she would never have the opportunity to do so again.

It felt amazing just to be home. To look out over the large rocks embedded in the sand, and look out at the large coral reef surrounding them. Protecting it, and coloring a rainbow in the sea below.

To Blake, there would never be a better sight, and there was really only one person she could thank for seeing this view again…and yet, that woman rested in her arms a broken spirit.

"I never said it…" Blake began softly. "So I'm saying it now…thank you."

"Don't do that…"

"Do what?"

"Make me think I'm worth something."

"Weiss, I'm free." Blake murmured. "That's worth everything."

"Then, I'm glad."

"No you're not…you're waiting to die. I've seen it before, thought about it myself a few times…I mean, why keep going if your entire life is nothing but misery, right?"

"That would be correct."

"If I had given up, I wouldn't be here right now." Blake told her. "If I had given up, I wouldn't be where I truly wanted to be…but you, you're pathetic. I was chained to a wall and starved, but you're trapping yourself…it sickens me to know why…you love her, but instead of just owning up to that you just quietly suffer...you're my wife, not hers…so you're here, instead…you didn't follow after her, and really, that's all you care about doing, isn't it?"

"I just wanted to do the right thing…"

"That still doesn't make you any less of an idiot."

"I know that."

"The ring, you meant it to be for her, didn't you?"

Weiss nodded, another tear slipping out of her eyes.

"I tossed it at her once. She has no idea."

"I couldn't ask her to stay cooped up in the castle." Weiss admitted darkly. "I couldn't beg her to just throw away the life she loves to live. It would have been cruel to make her choose. Her heart's not ready for that kind of commitment. I couldn't do that, knowing what it would mean."

Blake sighed, squirming the ring off of her finger. It wasn't an easy task with Weiss in her arms. Finally, she managed, and scowled at it. With all of her strength, she chucked it into the coral in the distance. "Good riddance to that stupid thing." Blake said, having wanted to do that ever since it fell into her possession. "I remember when we first met, I thought you had something to gain…but, you didn't, did you? You did this for Ruby, it wasn't for anyone else, was it?"

"She killed so many Faunus, Blake…blood was on her hands, and the woman I loved…she changed. She hated herself so god damn much that I..." Weiss shook her head weakly.

"Tell me."

"…I couldn't watch it happen anymore. So, I told we'd make it right. We left Atlas, came here…and I got to see what she saw. Live the way that she got to live, and I knew I couldn't take her adventures away from her. It was the only thing that made her smile. Then I found out about you, and everything tied together in a neat little package...I could put her sins to rest."

"Until you realized it wasn't the happy ending you wanted…"

"Indeed…so please, just leave me here."

Weiss was a self-sacrificing idiot, there was no doubt in her mind of that, but deep down, the white haired woman was truly a good person. Blake couldn't dent it, even though she desperately wanted to. So what was left then? Besides a beating heart, crushed by the weight of her own selflessness?

"I believe that everyone is entitled to make their own choices, so, it's really not my place to tell you how to live your life." Blake said, swallowing hard. "And if you want me to leave you here…if that's really what you want…" She adjusted the woman in her arms, truth be told, she was starting to feel heavy. "Weiss, listen…"

"Now you have something to say to me?"

"It might be the last time I ever say anything to you if I just leave you here." Blake protested. "So, can't you give me just that much?"

Weiss sighed, but nodded.

"If you died, Ruby would feel the weight of that." Blake said softly. "You might not have to deal with it, but she would, and even if she's just a friend, I don't think you want to force that agony on her. So, I guess...I mean...I'll make you a deal."

"I'm listening."

"I don't know if we can learn to love each other. I don't even know if you want that." Blake began. "I'm not going to try and take Ruby's place, but, I know you're a good person. You don't deserve to feel this way, no one does…so, I promise, I'll do better." Her hold on the woman tightened then. "If you promise not to give up on me, I promise, I'll do my best for you."

"I don't want to be alone anymore…"

"Then I won't leave you alone." Blake murmured.

"I don't know anything about Faunus practices…"

"Then, I'll just have to teach you."

"I'm a horrible bitch on bad days."

"That's nothing compared to when I go into heat, and I do that seasonally by the way."

"I'm scared, Blake."

"Then let me be brave for the both of us." Blake sighed as the sun set behind the water.

"I'm still tired."

"Then shut up and take that nap you so desperately need." Blake grumbled. "Can we go home now?"

"Yes…"

"Good, because you're getting heavy." Blake said as she turned to set a path back to the house. She half expected Weiss to argue, half wanting to hear some fight left in her voice, but instead Weiss closed her eyes, resting her head against Blake's chest. The Faunus just huffed, allowing herself a small smirk as she rolled her eyes. "I guess I'll just have to be the leader I was born to be..."

* * *

 **AYangThang:** And this is where we leave the couple. On the brink of uncertainty, with the future still ahead of them.

Sorry for the lateness. Life happened, it kept me busy. I suppose I should expect the insanity by now, but eh, I guess not. I got completely blindsided by a few family events I didn't plan for. Good ones, but events none the less. Then I managed to get sick, hell I still am...damn cold.

Anyway, thank you for following this story, leaving reviews, and all around enjoying it. I hope it treated you well. The three chapters are monstrously huge, and when I began writing this, the two scenes I wrote first was this ending one, and the scene in chapter one. The one between Weiss and Blake, talking about everything Weiss stood to gain…and I thought to myself, wouldn't it be tragic if, she had everything to lose, and chose to lose it.

At the end of it all, she realizing she would have much rather have been selfish all along…That sort of humanity always interests me, because I think more often than not, we're prone to selfishness. Furthermore, it's hard to say what makes you the stronger person, it could be seen both ways…and I wanted to examine that, too.

So, I wanted to write a story of perceived greed, of misunderstandings, and misleading intentions. I wanted judgement and prejudice to win out over the ideal romance…and I wanted to leave the conclusion of if two hearts can work something like that out, in your hands. I don't know if I succeeded, but, I do know that most people come to a crossroads in their life at some point…a choice between being happy, or being sad for the sake of someone else…and I believe the fundamental choice says a lot about that person.

Nothing inherently good or bad, but, something…and I believe how they choose to move forward in the aftermath is the most important thing of all. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the story for what it was, and forgave it for what it wasn't.

Until next time, everyone.


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